“Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with you.”
In this hectic upside down non-stop world,
help us Mary to be still, and to say yes to God.
Help us not to fear, you who in your own fear
saw what we only now see in part.
Help us to peer clearly through the dimmest
mirror, to know fully and to be fully known.
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”
Pray for us Mary as we stagger and stumble,
like wounded beasts towards Bethlehem.
To a humble manger filled with straw,
smelling of dung and dirt; to our own nativity.
To a miracle and a womb wondrous with child,
gladly giving birth to the Christ child within,
wrapped and swaddled in bands of cloth.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.”
To be born, gentle in heart and strong in faith,
on some still and unexpected night.
Let shepherds sing with untold joy,
and multitudes of holy angels rejoice.
Let the Lord of hosts shine all around us.
And let all who hear be amazed, at God’s astounding love.
“Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with you.”
Let such a revelation be at hand;
let such a holy night,
and such a birth be repeated once again.
Let it be revealed each single day
as we live in the light of Christ.
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”
As the angles tell, teach us Mary to fear not,
never again; treasuring God’s news of great joy
in our all too human and frail hearts.
Help us to become one with Christ,
“that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.”
Let the season of Advent come
tenderly and fully upon us,
pregnant with expectation.
Let the Word become flesh,
to live amongst us.
Emmanuel, God with us.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.”
Let us be born again and again
in the Bethlehem of our souls,
in the quiet stillness of God’s love for the world.
Ron Starbuck
Copyright 2009
The second stanza of the poem calls out to W.B. Yeat's poem, The Second Coming.
