Mary: A Model of God’s Invitation to Shared Life and Sacrifice

How wonderful to open up the January issue of Give Us This Day and discover that the very first meditation of the new year is by my diocese’s very own Bishop Blase Cupich. Here is the conclusion of his meditation on this Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God:

This blessed virgin agreed not only to give birth to the Son of the Most High God. She also consented to enter into a unique relationship with God, a relationship that is so intimate that only the bond between a mother and a child comes close to explaining or understanding it. The message of this first disciple of Jesus is clear as we begin a new calendar year: God invites us into an authentic relationship of shared life and sacrifice. It is a relationship in which we come to know who we are in knowing God, and he wishes us to know him in a way that gives us new life.

As this new year dawns, may we all actively answer the invitation that Bishop Cupich writes about, entering more deeply into shared life and sacrifice with God. Happy New Year!