In this holy season of Advent, we should beg the Blessed Mother to kindle our hearts a little with her own longing and to implore Our Lord to be born anew in our hearts. What does our Lord in the manger want to do with us superficial people? In the picture of the Blessed Mother, we see the effects of redemptive grace. She stands before us as the singular sign of light and redemption, as the singular sign of peace and victory. 

She is the sign of light and redemption. Let us take out a few moments and absorb all her splendor But it almost seems too difficult to take out even a little time. Life chases us from place to place. For religious matters we seem to have no time; nor do we seem to have patience or interest! And yet, we should compare ourselves to our Blessed Mother. She is the great sign of light. And what are we? I do not know what I should say. Should I say we are the sign of night? What should and does redemptive grace effect in us? Yes, slowly, very slowly, we become transformed according to the picture of the Blessed Mother into a brightly shining sign of light (Father Joseph Kentenich, Milwaukee, 1962).