As we prepare for the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the close the Year of St. Joseph, we place in the loving protection of both Mary and Joseph, in this time of preparation for Christ’s birth, all the many worries and preoccupations that weigh upon us.
We entrust to her the coming year, asking her to guide us in and through it, that each day of 2022 will bring us closer to her Son.
Reflection
The promises of the Old Covenant find a ready welcome in her. In Mary the Word of God is met with listening, acceptance and a response; he encounters that “yes” which enables him to take flesh and to come and dwell among us.
In Mary humanity and history are truly opened to God, they welcome his grace and are prepared to do his will. Mary is a genuine expression of Grace.
Prayer:
This is the oldest recorded Marian prayer, outside of the texts from the Gospels:
We fly to Thy protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
