EMBRACING THE DARKNESS
This summer, while the political situation in the city of Los Angeles surged, many faithful took to the streets to express love for their immigrant neighbors. We chanted, we cried, and we held silent space together. Then, Valarie Kaur (activist, lawyer, author) took the stage and said, “We are living in a dark moment. What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but of the womb?”
My heart sank. I felt chills run through my body and I immediately thought of Mother Mary.
Following her speech, Fr. Brendan Busse, SJ and other religious leaders led us on a prayerful procession. Among the many creative signs that people carried, I noticed a young Catholic seminarian carrying a large frame of Our Lady of Guadalupe and two other families with posters that had the Guadalupe image painted on them. In a tangible way, through the symbols and the prayers, La Guadalupe was there with us– walking alongside us in solidarity. Suddenly, it hit me–the Holy Spirit is at work here, among us, despite the injustices.
There is something to be said about the fact that God chose to come to us through the body of a woman. As today’s readings contextualize, the historical Mary was a Palestinian, unmarried girl. If anyone knows darkness, it is Mary. And, in the darkness of her womb, she carried Jesus while she endured persecution from the empire, endured fleeing from her hometown seeking safety, and endured laboring in a stable. It seems to me, then, that Advent is the season of Mary. She is our teacher. She invites us to embrace the darkness, trusting that God is still at work.
Today, as millions celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I invite you to meditate on “the darkness of the womb.” How might reframing the concept of darkness in a life-giving way influence your Advent journey? How might God be drawing you nearer to your community during this season?
Ana Lopez