“A Hidden Yes” - Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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I’ve known a young woman for five years now.
When we first met, she was searching—
not just for answers, but for herself.
She carried so many questions in her heart:
Am I enough?
Do I belong?
What is God asking of me?

She thought she needed more—more clarity, more affirmation, more direction.
But slowly, something began to change.
Not in a flash.
Not in a storm.
It began in silence.
In prayer.
In adoration.

She started spending time with Jesus.
Not just speaking—but listening.
And in that quiet space,
she began to hear something deeper.
A whisper.
A call.

She’s discerning consecrated virginity—
one of the oldest vocations in the Church.
It’s not a life behind monastery walls.
It’s a life in the world,
but set apart for Christ.

She may have a job, a home, a daily routine.
But spiritually, she belongs to Him alone.
She is His bride.
No habit.
No title.
But the Church sees her—
as sacred,
as chosen,
as a living sign of love that does not fade.

And today, as we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
I see the connection.

Mary was born into obscurity.
No royal fanfare.
No earthly throne.
But heaven rejoiced.

Because in her,
God was preparing a dwelling place for His Son.
Her birth was the dawn of redemption—
the morning star before the Sun.

Mary’s holiness didn’t begin with miracles.
It began with a yes.
A quiet yes.
A yes that echoed through her whole life.

And maybe that’s what this young woman is discovering.
That holiness begins in the ordinary.
In silence.
In the quiet unfolding of God’s plan.

So today,
we honor Mary’s birth.
We honor every hidden beginning.
Every quiet yes.
Every heart that dares to belong to Christ alone.

Because before we were born,
God knew us.
And He delights in beginnings.

May we rejoice with Mary.
May we thank God for the grace of her life.
And may we ask her to walk with us—
as we learn to say yes
in our own way.

Amen.

A Yes in the Quiet

Lord God,
You knew us before we were formed,
and You called us by name from the womb (Jeremiah 1:5).
You delight in beginnings,
in the hidden yes,
in the quiet surrender.

As we honor the birth of Mary,
the dawn before the Light,
we thank You for every soul
called to belong to Christ alone.

Bless those who hear Your whisper—
who seek You in silence,
who say yes with their whole lives.

May their hearts echo Mary’s:
“Be it done unto me according to Your word” (Luke 1:38).
And may our lives, too,
become a dwelling place for Your Son.

Amen.