Eldon parishioner speaks of Mary as a model for celebrating Jesus’s Incarnation
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Jay Harms hoped everyone would have a very Mary Christmas.
He offered a reflection on the Blessed Mother to an ecumenical gathering of Christian men as part of a three-day, early-morning Advent breakfast series organized by the Eldon Ministerial Alliance.
“Scripture reveals that Mary is present at every decisive moment in her Son’s life — from his conception to his death and resurrection,” Mr. Harms, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Eldon, reminded the group of about 20 members of various local churches.
“By reflecting on these key moments, we see how Mary’s example teaches us to live the mystery of Christmas and how, at the cross, Jesus gives his mother to the Church as a source of comfort and hope,” he said.
Mr. Harms, an attorney who was once a member of a parish with six members in Egypt, led his audience through pivotal moments in Jesus’s and Mary’s life.
“We can reflect on Mary’s journey and follow her example,” said Mr. Harms. “We can quiet ourselves and hear God’s calling. And when we hear his calling, we can then surrender ourselves to his will.
“If we need prayers or blessings, we can ask Mary to intercede for us with God and be comforted by the Mother of God and the power of her fervent prayer,” he said.
The Archangel Gabriel, who appeared to Mary at the moment of Jesus’s incarnation, reminds her that “nothing is impossible through God.”
Mary submitted herself to God’s will, saying simply, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
Mr. Harms said Mary’s definitive “yes” when told she would be the mother of the Savior is an excellent example of how to receive Christ — “by listening attentively to God’s voice and trusting his will.”
“Amid the busyness of the season, her example invites us to quiet our hearts so Christ may be born within us,” said Mr. Harms.
Upon finding that her cousin, who was thought to be unable to have children, was in her sixth month of pregnancy, Mary set out in haste and joy to visit her.
“Mary shows us that Christ is not meant to be kept for ourselves,” said Mr. Harms. “At Christmas, her example calls us to carry Jesus to others through charity, service and presence — especially to those who are lonely, suffering or forgotten.”
In a stable in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus in poverty and simplicity.
“She teaches us that Christmas is not about comfort or perfection, but about humility and wonder,” said Mr. Harms. “Like her, we are called to treasure the gift of Christ quietly, allowing his presence to shape our hearts.”
In keeping with their duties as descendants of Abraham and adherents to God’s covenant with his Chosen People, Mary and Joseph presented their firstborn Son to God and offered sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem.
There, the Holy Spirit filled a righteous and devout man name Simeon and a long-widowed prophetess named Anna. Both praised God for sending the Messiah into the world. Simeon also told Mary that she would suffer as his mother.
“Even at the joy of Christmas, Mary reminds us that faith includes suffering,” Mr. Harms noted. “She teaches us to trust God when joy and sorrow are intertwined, confident that God’s promises are fulfilled through both.”
Love and compassion
The Holy Family continued to live and observe their faith, including making pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem for Passover.
When young Jesus stayed behind, his parents searched desperately for him, eventually finding him engaged in deep discussion with scholars of the Scriptures and the law.
He was surprised that Mary and Joseph did not know that he “must be in my Father’s house.”
In this instance Jesus shows that he “was subject to his human family, demonstrating the beauty of Christ’s humanity — God coming to earth in human form to redeem us and offer us salvation,” Mr. Harms noted.
Jesus did not turn his back on Joseph in the Temple, but he did acknowledge God as his Father.
“Yet,” Mr. Harms noted, “his relationship with Mary remains the same — Mary gave birth to Jesus. She was, and still is, his mother.”
All of this was a lot for Mary to take in, but she “kept all these things in her heart.”
“Mary’s example during Christmas invites us to release our need to control, and to trust God’s plan — even when we do not fully understand it,” said Mr. Harms.
Years later, when Mary and Jesus attended a wedding at Cana, she called on him to help the newly married couple when the wine for their celebration ran out.
She told the servants to “do whatever he tells you.”
“Through the understanding of a mother to a child, Jesus performed his first public miracle,” Mr. Harms noted.
“Mary’s message remains the same at Christmas,” he said. “Bring your needs to Jesus and trust him to act in his time and way.”
Simeon’s prophecy came to fruition during Jesus’s crucifixion and death.
“Mary stands at the foot of the cross as her Son suffers and dies,” said Mr. Harms.
There, speaking to her and the beloved disciple, the Lord proclaimed, “Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.”
With that, Jesus’s mother became everyone’s mother.
“Her presence at the cross assures us that God does not abandon us in suffering,” said Mr. Harms. “Mary understands sorrow, loss and pain, and she accompanies us as a compassionate mother.”
Prayers of the righteous
During Christmas, when people gaze on the Child in the manger, “Mary reminds us that love remains faithful even through suffering,” said Mr. Harms. “Jesus’s gift of his mother is a gift of consolation, assuring us that we never grieve alone.”
Mary is united to Jesus by a close and indissoluble tie. She is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God.
She is therefore also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
“Because of this gift of sublime grace, she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth,” Mr. Harms noted.
She continues to hold a special place in heaven with Jesus.
Having been present with her Son at his birth, throughout his ministry, at the foot of his cross and in the aftermath of his resurrection, Mary continues to be present in the life of the Church, both as a loving mother and a powerful intercessor.
Mr. Harms pointed to James 5:16 — “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.”
Mary teaches the faithful how to authentically listen and say “yes” to God, to carry Christ to others, to embrace humility, to trust through suffering and to remain faithful in love.
“May we all welcome Jesus as Mary did — by opening our hearts to God’s will and allowing Mary, our mother, to lead us closer to her Son, who came into the world to bring us salvation and hope,” said Mr. Harms.
