I remember it as one of the most special Christmases ever. It was the Christmas my youngest baby was in my arms and my oldest child was a sibling…both for the first time. It was the Christmas family came visiting from 1500 miles away. It was the Christmas we took a niece to her first midnight Mass and I found myself transported beyond the magic of Santa into the wonder of something so much more beautiful.
Christmas is special for so many reasons. I’ve hated it for years, for various reasons, but I embrace it now, for so many other, better reasons. I think of that Baby in the manger, not so different from the babies I’ve held. I smell the incense, see the church transformed, feel myself…nudged, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.
And then there’s that certain special Christmas snow, the snow that is prayed for earnestly, with innocence and wonder and faith. The snow that, against all forecasts, comes.
Makes me think of Mary. [Yeah, I know, by now you know that everything makes me think of Mary, but with a weekly assignment to write about her, I have to be a bit open-minded. :)]
As it turns out, there’s a title of Mary, Our Lady of the Snows, that has to do with…snow.
I’m pretty sure she’s the patron of a niece of mine who shares her name. I’m pretty sure when my niece hears about this title, she’ll have the holy card in her possession. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be thinking of Mary in a few months when it snows here in Ohio.
If you want to learn more about our special Christmas and about Our Lady of the Snows, stop by Today’s Catholic Woman and read my column.
