From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore, the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel. -(Micah 5:2b-4)
Friends, God is good, all the time.
The Blessed Virgin Mary remains the most admirable woman of all time in the Catholic tradition and in history. When I think of her unique personality and spirit in relation to myself, the question comes to me again, and again, are great people like born or made?
An article in the Harvard Business Review recently suggested that human "potential" is the basis for greatness in every facet of life. And the Bible is unequivocal about the origin of human potential. God gives us every potential we possess from birth, which we must develop into maturity by fitting our lives into God's plan, whether we become spiritual heroes, saints, or Nobel prize winners in Economics or Engineering.
Micah's prophesy that detailed the birth of the savior also hinted about the birth of Mary. It says of Mary, "Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne,And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel." The potential to become the mother of Jesus was given to Mary from birth, but the good nurturing she experienced from her parents Joachim and Ann, and her own conformity to God's ways so that God's plan was not thwarted in her life played a role.
Fitting our lives into God's plan enables us to bring all our potentials to use to benefit others as Mary did. She lived a holy life so that she could receive the Holy Spirit as a spouse and contain the son of God in her body, as a living human tabernacle. St Paul reminds us that "all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Rom 8: 28).
Like Mary, we're to fit our daily life into God's plan by our willingness to look to God and say yes to Him daily. When we can do that, there is no fear of how our potentials will be developed into maturity and produce our individual unique greatness.
Prayer blessings: Lord, as Mary praised you for your great works in her, “the almighty has done great things for me, holy is his name,” so keep our lives anchored in you and help us to recognize all your works in our own lives. Amen.