New Years Day in the Catholic liturgical season (the Roman calendar) opens the new year with a solemn feast dedicated to Mary Mother of God.  Why Mary?  Why the feminine vessel of God’s life, the Divine new life?  She embodies the posture of receptivity to the silent promptings of the Spirit.  Her consent is a paradigm for our lives, this humble yet strong demeanor of willingness, willingness to receive and accept the Divine promptings, even though there is so much that is unknown surrounding her ‘yes’, unknown about where her ‘yes’ will lead, about what it will ask of her, about how it will unfold into the future. 

The ‘new’ is already stirring, are we humble enough to perceive it inside and out?  First in our immediate landscape, meaning within ourselves and within our sisters.  Then the ‘new’ lingers well beyond us.  The nature of God is love, which includes change, transformative change, and these grounded in humility.