It’s time … or is it?

God promised a Messiah
to the Jewish people
hundreds of years ago.
And now, at last,
it’s time (I think!)

A suitable lineage
is in place –
from Abraham and Isaac,
to Jesse and David
and, eventually,
to Jacob and Joseph.
(That took a long, long time
to create!)

The Angel Gabriel
has been dispatched
to Nazareth.
He has just spoken
to the key player –
Mary.
Mary is a young woman
like no other,
born without sin
and sinless to this very day.

Gabriel has just told Mary
about God’s plan –
for her to be the mother
of His son.
Mary’s reaction is encouraging –
she asks how this can come about
as she is unmarried.
Gabriel explains –
the Holy Spirit will come upon her
and the power of God
will overshadow her.

And there’s more –
Mary’s cousin Elizabeth,
who was in her old age
and barren,
is now six months pregnant.
“Nothing is impossible to God,”
finishes Gabriel.
Gabriel now waits
for Mary’s response.

Does heaven hold its breath?

After a moment
Mary, the perfect woman,
humbly gives her answer –
“I am the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me
according to thy word.”

Up in heaven,
does it sound as if
a winning goal has been scored
in the World Cup?

It’s time for the Messiah –
let the work begin!

© Claire Murray, 15th October 2025

I learned my prayers
when I was a child
and I particularly liked
the Hail Mary.
You see, it contained the line,
“and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.”
Well, I knew what fruit was
(apples and oranges)
and I knew who Jesus was.
I could easily picture
Our Lady and Jesus
sitting outside the temple
selling apples and oranges
in the sunshine.

I liked this prayer!

Then there was another prayer,
the Hail Holy Queen.
This prayer felt very different,
a bit dark and scary.
You see, it contained the line,
“mourning and weeping
in this valley of tears”.

Don’t they say,
“show me the child at seven
and I’ll show you the man”?
Well, even in my fifties,
I still loved the Hail Mary
and avoided the Hail Holy Queen
(which continued to feel
dark and foreboding!)

Only in recent years
has the Hail Holy Queen
begun to make sense to me.
Now I understand that,
during those times
when life is brimming over
with sorrow, illness and pain
and hope has gone AWOL,
that is our valley of tears.
And that is the perfect time
to ask Our Lady
for help.

Today I’m saying the Rosary
for two friends of ours
who each find themselves,
through totally different circumstances,
in a valley of tears.

As I pray the Rosary,
I say dozens of Hail Mary’s,
that happy wee prayer
that I still love
(even though I now know
that it’s not at all
about apples and oranges!)
And I also say the Hail Holy Queen,
a prayer that I now understand.
It’s a cry from the heart,
a plea for help
for our two friends
in their valley of tears.

Mary, Queen of Ireland,
please pray for our two friends
and come to their aid
in these difficult, dark times.

© Claire Murray, 20th July 2025

Patricia Saint John,
the Christian writer,
described how, in childhood,
she climbed to the top
of a beech tree
with her brother
and a family friend, Nora.

From this towering vantage point
Patricia could see her mother
doing something
at the foot of the tree
and called out,
“What are you doing
down there?”

“Praying that, if one of you falls”,
replied her mother,
“it’s not Nora!”

Patricia’s mother obviously felt
the weight of responsibility
that comes with
looking after someone else’s child.

This comes to mind today
as I pray The Finding in the Temple
while saying my Rosary.
I find myself wondering
how Our Lady must have felt
when Jesus went missing –
the terror of having lost
her own son,
coupled with the weight of responsibility
that comes with looking after
the long-awaited Messiah,
the Son of God!

But then Our Lady
was no ordinary woman –
she was a woman like no other,
specially chosen by God
and she had Saint Joseph
by her side.
Was he the voice of reason,
urging Our Lady to stay calm,
retrace her steps
and place her trust in God?

Our Lady and Saint Joseph –
two extraordinary people
chosen by God
to look after His son.
And now, when I think about it,
I reckon that God really couldn’t have chosen
more capable people
to bear the awesome responsibility
of caring His son,
now could He?

© Claire Murray, March 2024

Recently
there’s been talk on corners.
Mary is expecting a baby,
you see,
before she has begun
to live with Joseph.

“Oooh,
some people just can’t wait!”
smirks someone.
Mary passes by,
head bowed down.

“Bringing shame on the family!”
whispers another
as Mary approaches.
Mary hurries past.

“Bring back stoning,
that’s what I say!”
rasps someone else.
Mary lowers her head
and blinks away tears.

Harsh words
to cut, to humiliate, to hurt
and to terrify.

Mary hurries off
to a town in the hill country
to visit Elizabeth.

What a reception
she receives –
welcome, warm embrace
and smiles all around.
Even Elizabeth’s unborn child
leaps for joy!

Here, Mary can hold her head high
and reveal at last
her true feelings –
“My soul glorifies the Lord!”

Three months in the hill country
with Elizabeth –
where Mary feels
known, loved, accepted
and understood.

A hope that,
by the time she returns home,
the talk on corners
will have ceased.

© Claire Murray, 12th January 2023

Recently
there’s been talk on corners.
Mary is expecting a baby,
you see,
before she has begun
to live with Joseph.

“Oooh,
some people just can’t wait!”
smirks someone.
Mary passes by,
head bowed down.

“Bringing shame on the family!”
whispers another
as Mary approaches.
Mary hurries past.

“Bring back stoning,
that’s what I say!”
rasps someone else.
Mary lowers her head
and blinks away tears.

Harsh words
to cut, to humiliate, to hurt
and to terrify.

Mary hurries off
to a town in the hill country
to visit Elizabeth.

What a reception
she receives –
welcome, warm embrace
and smiles all around.
Even Elizabeth’s unborn child
leaps for joy!

Here, Mary can hold her head high
and reveal at last
her true feelings –
“My soul glorifies the Lord!”

Three months in the hill country
with Elizabeth –
where Mary feels
known, loved, accepted
and understood.

A hope that,
by the time she returns home,
the talk on corners
will have ceased.

© Claire Murray, 12th January 2023