Once a man went off to the mountains for a hike. When he arrived at the trailhead, he read a sign that said, “For your safety stay on trail”. He did this for a little bit but soon he became curious about the glittery and shiny things that he saw in the forest next to the trail. So, he left the trail and entered into the forest as the sun started going down. As he got deeper into the forest, it got darker and darker. Pretty soon, he was lost. He tried to find his way back to the trail but he could not find it. He kept walking and walking for days without getting anywhere and without the light of the sun ever coming back, as in this forest, it was dark all of the time. The food in his backpack was running out and he finally just sat down on a rock, immersed in the darkness of the forest. A few more days passed and he was beginning to resign himself to death when he finally saw a glimmer of light off in the distance. After a time, he realized that it was not coming from the sun but was coming from a lady who was holding a child. He walked towards the light. He was very weak but he managed to reach the lady. As soon as he arrived at her, she said to him, “Adam, if you are willing to carry my child, I will show you the way out of this forest and up the mountain”. This story represents the history of the human race. God created us and gave us a path to follow. We strayed from that path and plunged our race into sin and the darkness of moral perversity. Centuries passed in a state of darkness for mankind. Finally, a glimmer of light appeared on the horizon. That light was the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her coming was like the first glimmer of dawn for the human race. It was like the announcement of the arrival of a rescue mission for a dying world. We don’t celebrate many birthdays in the liturgical year, but we celebrate the birthday of Our Lady because her birth is the source of our life. When we say in the Hail Holy Queen that Our Lady is “our life, our sweetness, and our hope”, we are not playing with words. We are completely sincere in saying that Our Lady is our life. We believe that we cannot live without her. We believe that the one who finds her finds life.
