Think back for a second on one of your best days. It may be your wedding. It may be a sporting event. It may be a great day with mom and dad. For me, I'm thinking about my ordination. When you think back on that day, what are some of the things that you associate with that day? I think of the fact that the power blew and that my classmate kept crying during the entire ordination. I think about the Archbishop's homily, which was the best homily I've ever heard him preach. I think of the smiles on my Mom and Dad's faces during the hand shake of peace. What do you remember about your big day? I imagine that, if we all compared stories, the one thing we would remember would be the people who were with us.

That's what's amazing about big days, they're almost never spent entirely alone. I feel like even the biggest introvert in the world wants to have people around her or him when it comes to these big, important, ground breaking events.

In the life of Jesus, the church acclaims resoundingly what we refer to as the incarnation. In other words, we believe that, in Jesus, God entered into the human condition. At the birth, we celebrate the fact that the incarnation became a visible reality. Prior to this, the only person who was directly physically aware of God-made-man was Mary. And, when you think about it, Mary was the really the one who was celebrating that first birthday of Jesus. Since he entered fully into the human condition as a baby, he wouldn't have had a clue as to what was happening. But, Mary did.

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. It's been a week since we celebrated Christmas and this celebration brings to an end what we call the Octave of Christmas, the eight days of celebration we attach to big celebrations. In some ways, it's like we're still celebrating Christmas today as we celebrate Mary, Mother of God. Our readings focus us on how the incarnation can affect us throughout our year. The incarnation is a blessing for us, just as the priests of the Old Testament were called to bless the people. The incarnation is our celebration of becoming sons and daughters of God. We are no longer strangers of God, now we are beloved sons and daughters. And the incarnation is a moment to be like the shepherds, to glorify and praise God.

Yet, if there is one person we most want to be like because of the incarnation. Mary is amazed and in awe of the gift God gave to us. We also should be amazed and in awe of God's love for us. Mary kept the great events of Jesus' life in her heart and reflected on them throughout her life. We also need to keep the great things God has done for us in our life. And, most importantly, Mary cared for all the people around her. As we enter into this New Year of 2010, let us also share the blessings given us by God with others.