Giving Birth to Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\nLifetime Commitment<\/strong>\nWednesday, \u202fDecember 9, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>My\ndear friend Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I. reminds us that giving birth spiritually\nis a dynamic and creative process. To bring Christ into the world involves an\nongoing commitment to growth, to discomfort, to love, and to surrender. It is\nnot for the faint of heart, but it is God\u2019s invitation to all of us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking\nat how Mary gave birth to Christ, we see that it\u2019s not something that\u2019s done in\nan instant. Faith, like biology, also relies on a process that has a number of\ndistinct, organic moments. What are these moments? What is the process by which\nwe give birth to faith in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First,\nlike Mary, we need to get pregnant by the Holy Spirit. We need to let the word\ntake such root in us that it begins to become part of our actual flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then,\nlike any woman who\u2019s pregnant, we have to lovingly gestate, nurture, and\nprotect what is growing inside us until it\u2019s sufficiently strong so that it can\nlive on its own, outside us. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually,\nof course, we must give birth. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Birth,\nhowever, is only the beginnings of motherhood. Mary gave birth to a baby, but\nshe had to spend years nurturing, coaxing, and cajoling that infant into\nadulthood. The infant in the crib at Bethlehem is not yet the Christ who\npreaches, heals, and dies for us. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally,\nmotherhood has still one more phase. As her child grows, matures, and takes on\na personality and destiny of its own, the mother, at a point, must ponder (as\nMary did). She must let herself be painfully stretched in understanding, in not\nknowing, in carrying tension, in letting go. She must set free to be itself\nsomething that was once so fiercely hers. The pains of childbirth are often\ngentle compared to this second wrenching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All\nof this is what Mary went through to give Christ to the world: Pregnancy by the\nHoly Spirit; gestation of that into a child inside of her; excruciating pain in\nbirthing that to the outside; nurturing that new life into adulthood; and\npondering, painfully letting go so that this new life can be its own, not hers.\n. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our\ntask too is to give birth to Christ. Mary is the paradigm for doing that. From\nher we get the pattern: Let the word of God take root and make you pregnant;\ngestate that by giving it the nourishing sustenance of your own life; submit to\nthe pain that is demanded for it to be born to the outside; then spend years\ncoaxing it from infancy to adulthood; and finally, during and after all of\nthis, do some pondering, accept the pain of not understanding and of letting\ngo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christmas isn\u2019t automatic, it can\u2019t be taken for granted. It began with Mary, but each of us is asked to make our own contribution to giving flesh to faith in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"207\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-500x207.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-500x207.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-768x318.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM.png 1906w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giving Birth to Christ A Lifetime Commitment Wednesday, \u202fDecember 9, 2020 My dear friend Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I. reminds us that giving birth spiritually is a dynamic and creative process. To bring Christ into the world involves an ongoing commitment to growth, to discomfort, to love, and to surrender. It is not for the faint of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19591,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587\/revisions\/19591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>My\ndear friend Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I. reminds us that giving birth spiritually\nis a dynamic and creative process. To bring Christ into the world involves an\nongoing commitment to growth, to discomfort, to love, and to surrender. It is\nnot for the faint of heart, but it is God\u2019s invitation to all of us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking\nat how Mary gave birth to Christ, we see that it\u2019s not something that\u2019s done in\nan instant. Faith, like biology, also relies on a process that has a number of\ndistinct, organic moments. What are these moments? What is the process by which\nwe give birth to faith in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First,\nlike Mary, we need to get pregnant by the Holy Spirit. We need to let the word\ntake such root in us that it begins to become part of our actual flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then,\nlike any woman who\u2019s pregnant, we have to lovingly gestate, nurture, and\nprotect what is growing inside us until it\u2019s sufficiently strong so that it can\nlive on its own, outside us. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually,\nof course, we must give birth. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Birth,\nhowever, is only the beginnings of motherhood. Mary gave birth to a baby, but\nshe had to spend years nurturing, coaxing, and cajoling that infant into\nadulthood. The infant in the crib at Bethlehem is not yet the Christ who\npreaches, heals, and dies for us. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally,\nmotherhood has still one more phase. As her child grows, matures, and takes on\na personality and destiny of its own, the mother, at a point, must ponder (as\nMary did). She must let herself be painfully stretched in understanding, in not\nknowing, in carrying tension, in letting go. She must set free to be itself\nsomething that was once so fiercely hers. The pains of childbirth are often\ngentle compared to this second wrenching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All\nof this is what Mary went through to give Christ to the world: Pregnancy by the\nHoly Spirit; gestation of that into a child inside of her; excruciating pain in\nbirthing that to the outside; nurturing that new life into adulthood; and\npondering, painfully letting go so that this new life can be its own, not hers.\n. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our\ntask too is to give birth to Christ. Mary is the paradigm for doing that. From\nher we get the pattern: Let the word of God take root and make you pregnant;\ngestate that by giving it the nourishing sustenance of your own life; submit to\nthe pain that is demanded for it to be born to the outside; then spend years\ncoaxing it from infancy to adulthood; and finally, during and after all of\nthis, do some pondering, accept the pain of not understanding and of letting\ngo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christmas isn\u2019t automatic, it can\u2019t be taken for granted. It began with Mary, but each of us is asked to make our own contribution to giving flesh to faith in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"207\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-500x207.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-500x207.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM-768x318.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-09-at-10.25.07-AM.png 1906w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giving Birth to Christ A Lifetime Commitment Wednesday, \u202fDecember 9, 2020 My dear friend Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I. reminds us that giving birth spiritually is a dynamic and creative process. To bring Christ into the world involves an ongoing commitment to growth, to discomfort, to love, and to surrender. It is not for the faint of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19591,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587\/revisions\/19591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}