Have you ever experienced a night so absolutely dark, as to be terrifying?

December brings long winter nights where the darkness can feel complete. Slowly, however, the stars burn, one by one, through heaven’s blanket. By midnight, their brilliance convinces our hearts and souls that we have never been, and can never be alone.

During this second week of Advent, which includes the feasts of both the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, we are continually assured that we are never alone. Mary rises like an evening star in the long story of salvation. She begins a motherhood for Jesus, and becomes our Mother too.

Mary visits each of us with the same joy she brought to Elizabeth in that ancient Advent. She shares the simple secret of her holiness: that she understood her life to be a sacred channel for God.

As we pray and give thanks to Mary this week, let us hold all mothers in our hearts. May our prayers embrace our own mothers, as well as any mothers overburdened by poverty or illness. May any darkness these mothers face, be lifted by the gracious hand of Mary who knows all hearts and circumstances.

Learn more about giving a woman the gift of a healthy pregnancy.

*Adapted from Catholic Health Association of the US 2015 Advent Reflections