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“You look like you’re ready to pop!” “Are you sure there’s only one baby in there?” “Did you get this big with your first pregnancy?” Oh yes, these are comments and questions I hear every day, from friends and strangers alike! With 4 weeks remaining until Baby Sifuentes reaches term, I am very obviously “with child.” So truly, the comments make me smile rather than cringe.
Carrying Christ
By Ruth Mary Fox
Into the hillside country Mary went
Carrying Christ, and all along the road
The Christ she carried generously bestowed
His grace on those she met. She had not meant
To tell she carried Christ. She was content
To hide His love for her. But about her glowed
Such joy that into stony hearts love flowed,
And even to the unborn John Christ’s grace was sent.
Christ in His Sacrament of love each day
Swells in my soul a little space and then
I walk life’s crowded highway, jostling men
Who seldom think of God. To these I pray
That I may carry Christ, for it may be
Some would not know of Him except through me.
Advent 2012 has allowed me the opportunity to be pregnant alongside Mary. Our Blessed Mother has always held a treasured place in my life. In high school she was my spiritual companion on a “Miraculous medal” necklace – a gift from my Dad. In college I prayed the rosary more, alone and with friends, pondering the “mysteries” of Mary’s life; getting to know her as the perfect disciple. In graduate school I had a ministry internship at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Indianapolis, and post-grad school I became entranced with the Virgin in art, collecting various images and even attempting to paint her myself! Last but definitely not least, Mary played a major role in Paul and my discernment of marriage – a longer story for another time!
In God’s perfect design, when a woman is carrying a child in her womb, at a certain point it becomes unavoidably obvious. Ready or not, “baby bump” barges into life’s routine, becoming the center of conversation, and soon-to-be the center of your life. I think of Mary carrying Christ in preparation for His birth, and I think of how all of us “carry Christ” within us – in our hearts, in the Eucharist, in our daily demeanor. God has called each of us to carry Christ into the world in a distinctive way. As a young adult working mom expecting Baby #2, I am currently trying to “carry Christ” by showing my openness to the will of the Father – still trying to give a complete “yes” to God, as Mary did.
This Christmas, I encourage you to reflect on how God asks you to carry Christ into the world around you, in your unique way. Like carrying a child for 9 months, it is not easy, but the reward promises to be great!
Return back to the Christmas reflections page