The Heart of Advent: Mary Immaculate

In many prosperous countries pregnancy has become a sign of contradiction. On the street or at the supermarket the pregnant woman may draw scowls or smirks, even the butt of cynical comments - the cruel prattle of a sterile society, shamefully indifferent to its dangerously low birthrate.

Yet there can be no greater sign of hope than the expectant mother. She is the "one who waits" for the inseparable pain and joy of childbirth. She affirms the strength of womanhood, cherishing the living hope slowly taking form in her womb, or "beneath her heart" as Pope John Paul II put it in Evangelium Vitae.

Therefore, at the very heart of Advent, the Church sets the pregnant woman before us. On December 8, she points us all towards Christmas. She is the great sign of hope:
Mary Immaculate.

THE PREGNANT MADONNA

Mary is rarely presented in Christian art as a pregnant woman, until you look closely at one of the most widely reproduced images, the holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico City. This unusual image was mysterious printed on the cloak of the poor man, Blessed Juan Diego, in 1531. It is the central object of devotion in the most visited marian shrine on our planet, where Mass is celebrated twelve hours each day, on the hour! To see Mary's image in the heavy modern basilica built in the 'Seventies of the last century, you get on a moving walkway, such as is found at airports, and you glide past in a continuously gazing crowd. Better to step back and look more carefully at the simplicity and mystery of this female figure.

Here is a strong young woman, of Aztec countenance and small stature, her head inclined in humility, her fingers gently joined. At first sight it is a typical representation of the Immaculate Conception, but here Mary is pregnant. In the same era, the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross evoked this in a poem:

"With the divine Word made pregnant,
the Virgin walks this way,
would that you might let her stay with you."

GREAT SIGN OF HOPE

Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation presents the same image: the pregnant woman is a "great sign in heaven". She is clothed in the sun, crowned with stars the moon beneath her feet, details later added the Mexican image. But there is a paradox here. How can we combine the celestial queen of the Book of Revelation and the obscure village maiden of the Gospel infancy narratives?

We turn to one of those narratives for the key. Luke tells us that this maiden, perhaps only sixteen years old, was hailed by her older cousin as "The mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Now that is a royall title reserved for the "queen mother", the king's mother who ranked first after the king in the royal families of the Middle East in the time of Christ.

The Eastern royal title affirms that this maiden is the human being on whom all history is poised, because through her the Messiah King will come to save his people. His reign depends on the consent of this young Jewish woman, in an obscure village in a remote province of the Roman Empire, a virgin chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, an honour for which all Jewish women would long.

HOPE AND JUSTICE REIGN

The royal responsibility of Mary brings joy: "Blessed are you among woman, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." cries her cousin. But it also brings pain: "and a sword will pierce your heart." predicts the Temple prophet. If John the Baptist must offer his life to "prepare the way" for Jesus the Messiah, the chosen Mother must endure another martyrdom to complete his journey. At the cross, Mary, the second Eve will take her stand with the second Adam, Jesus her Son. Together they will be united in a healing work of obedience at the new tree of life. This mystical theology is a strong theme in the writings of the Fathers of the Church.

The fruit of the new order of Jesus and Mary is justice. Mary's song is the cry of the hope of poor women: "…the almighty has done great things for me." She sings a song of justice for the poor: the rich and powerful humbled, the poor and hungry fed, the just reign of the Messiah is coming! Tremble as the Kingdom of Heaven breaks in!

Oppressed by Spanish conquest and impoverished under colonial rule, the indigenous people of Mexico recognised the pregnant Virgin of Guadalupe as their sister. She raised them up, called them to faith and brought about a new spirit of reconciliation in a turbulent colonial era, as people of all races and classes came together at her shrine. May we find reconciliation in the Immaculate Virgin. May she bring the hope of the new life in her womb to our sterile society, and reconciliation and justice to our indifference and complacency in Australia.

THE ONE WHO WAITS

Mary Immaculate is the last Advent reminder of how God prepared the way for his coming among us. All the saving events in Israel, the sufferings of God's chosen people, the prophecies and dreams led up to one perfect point, the Woman, the new Eve. Mary immaculate is God's new creation, a new beginning. Free from original sin from the first instant she existed, from her conception in Ann's womb, Mary is free to love, free to give, unimpeded by human failings. But she is no mere "instrument" and her innocence brings her deeper suffering. She is a person whose consent to a divine plan is a "yes" to greater risk and pain. So the Mother of the Lord waits expectantly to travel South with Joseph, from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

This is why mothers best understand Advent. They know how to wait and hope, as they sense their time drawing nearer. So we catch the breathless anticipation of Mother Church crying out with godly impatience: "COME, LORD JESUS! DO NOT DELAY!"