Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

LK 1:26-38

It is easy to have a strong faith when everything is going well in our lives. The children are healthy, you have a good job, a nice house, and a loving spouse. It is much more difficult to keep that same faith when things get worse – there is a sick child, cancer, no job, or an addiction in the family. We may think of Blessed Virgin Mary as a very privileged person, since she is the Mother of God. And indeed, she is very privileged. But because of that, God doesn’t save her from the brutality of this world; for instance, she became pregnant without a husband and so was ridiculed by others, she gave birth to her child in a stinky manger, she had to run away from Herod, and finally she saw her son being beaten, carrying a heavy cross, and then dying on Calvary. No, God didn’t save Mary from the difficulties of this world, but she never lost her faith. She teaches us that even in the most difficult moments of our lives, we need to keep faith. God is greater than anything the world throws at us.