"Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart." (St Luke ii. 19.)

1st Prelude. Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger.

2nd Prelude. Grace to ponder with Mary

"She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger." She has seen His face at last; she has folded Him in her arms and pressed Him to her bosom—her Son and her God. And she ponders—she meditates—she cannot tell her thoughts to any human soul—but she can tell them to her Son. Dico ego opera mea Regi. I will speak of my works to the King. (Ps. xliv. 2.) Many works had been wrought in and through Mary by the Holy Ghost, but they were all the King's secrets, and she pondered over them, speaking of them to Him alone. There was her vow of virginity, which she did not even speak of to her parents; there was the visit of the King's messenger, of which she spoke to no one—not to Elizabeth, nor even to St Joseph; there was the painful journey to Bethlehem, and the difficulty about finding a lodging. She might have told St Luke all about it, and had it all written down in the Gospel—but no, there is not a word except the mere fact that they went to Bethlehem, and that there was no room for them in the inn. Her sufferings were those of the King, and she shared them with Him alone.

And now that she has got her Jesus, she spends her time in pondering—in telling Him her thoughts and her secrets, which are His too.

How much I should gain if I could be a little more like my Mother in this!—if, instead of being so ready to go and talk of all the things that have been said and done to me, or of what I have said or done, or of what I have had to suffer, I were just to speak to my King about it—let it be something between us which nobody else knows anything about. It may often be my duty to speak, as it was Mary's later on, when she was obliged, for example, to tell St Luke all about the Angel's visit and what he said to her, because God wanted that piece of revelation to be written. But this was later. She did not go at once and tell Elizabeth all about it. Let us learn from Mary to let our first words, at any rate, be for our King; and, if this is so, it is probable that in many cases the matter will go no further, and others as well as ourselves will be saved from the miseries which so often follow from our being too ready to talk. Dico ego opera mea Regi. To Him I can never say too much, and He loves those silent heart-to-heart colloquies. He loves the things which are talked over with Him only—the King's secrets.

"They came with haste, and they found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in a manger." And during their visit they "understood," and went away to tell the good news to wondering listeners, leaving Mary still pondering. Each moment of her Son's life on earth brings her fresh matter for meditation. She has scarcely time to think of the miraculous birth before she hears "a multitude of the Heavenly Army" proclaiming the birth, praising God, and telling of the glory that is being given to Him, and of the peace that is being brought to earth. And Mary realises that she no longer has her Babe all to herself, that Heaven and earth claim Him. Then the Shepherds arrive; and after they have adored the Saviour Who is born to them, they tell His Mother of all the wonders of that night: of the Angel of the Lord who suddenly stood by them in the night watches; of the "brightness of God"; of how they feared; of how the Angel bid them: "Fear not"; of the good tidings that he brought, and of the great joy which was to be for everyone; that the Angel had actually told them that the Child was the Messias, and that he had given them the strangest sign by which they could know Him—He will be wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger! And lastly, how they had come in haste, as soon as the Angels had gone back to Heaven, and had found it all to be true. What joy this beautiful, simple, story must have brought to the Mother's heart! What fresh subjects for meditation now were hers! What a tender welcome she would give to these simple shepherds, whom God had picked out for such signal favours, and had allowed to be the first worshippers of her Son! How she would realise all the "great things" that God was doing now that she heard them from the mouths of these "little ones" to whom God had revealed them! (St Matt. xi. 25.) How graciously she would accept the poor offerings of these poor men to her Child Who had chosen to be poor! And how proud she would be that she, as His Mother, had the right to lift that little Hand, to convey the blessing which His Heart was giving to those who were going to be His first witnesses and apostles.

"Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart." How easy meditation was to Mary! Why? Because she lived always in the closest possible union with Jesus. If I find my meditations difficult, let me examine myself, and see whether the cause may not be that my union with Him is not so close as it was, that I have let something come between us, that I am not telling all my secrets to the King. If this is so, let me hasten to put things right with Him; and then I shall find again that my most precious moments are those in which I can devote my thoughts entirely to my King and ponder over the simple stories told of Him and His Blessed Mother.

Colloquy. The Alma Redemptoris Mater:—"Sweet Mother of our Redeemer, gate whereby we enter Heaven, and star of the sea, help us, we fall; yet do we long to rise. Nature looked upon thee with admiration when thou didst give birth to thy Divine Creator, thyself remaining before and after it a pure Virgin. Gabriel spoke his Hail to thee; we sinners crave thy pity." (Anthem from Advent to the Purification.)

Resolution. To ponder more and speak less.

Spiritual Bouquet. "Dico ego opera mea Regi."