The Mystery of God’s Love Revealed at Christmas

Emily Jerger reflects on how motherhood helps her meditate on God’s love. 

I will never forget the day my son was born. My husband and I had prayed for and hoped for a child. Knowing we would never become parents in the traditional way, we were thrilled when the long wait was over and we finally matched to adopt a newborn. On the day of our son’s arrival, we made it to the hospital just in time. Within a few minutes, he was born.   

When the nurses wheeled him into our room, I was deeply moved by the sight of this 2-minute-old baby. When they placed him in my arms, I marveled at his tiny little fingernails, his warm body, his stickiness. It was all completely new and overwhelming.   

In the days and weeks that followed, I stood in awe of this little gift of God. I was amazed when his eyelashes started to grow in, when he smiled for the first time, when he began to make eye contact and hold my gaze. Everything about him was wonderful.  

Meditating on the Incarnation  

As a new mother, caring for my son has offered a privileged window into the mystery of the Word-Made-Flesh. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:   

The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God. (457)  

When I hold my little boy, I ponder that God would love us so much as to choose this path of reconciliation — becoming a newborn child! I sometimes pause and imagine what it must have been like for Mary to believe that her little child was God. As I renew my faith that God became man, I imagine what it was like for Mary to make that act of faith as well.   

Mary cared for God-in-the-flesh. What was it like for her that first Christmas morning when she held her Lord in her arms? As the baby Jesus grew, what was it like to see his first smile and hold his gaze? In the smile of her little Son, God Himself was smiling at her.   

God has given us, in the gift of motherhood, an opportunity to glimpse His mystery. In a very real way, we continue the grace of Christmas, receiving human life that also holds the potential for the divine life of grace. We mothers become like Mary. The mystery of Christmas continues to be fulfilled in our own lives.   

It is the plan of Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in his mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us and in his whole Church. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 521)   

In caring for my son, I am reminded of Mary caring for her own. 

Seeing God’s Delight in the Eyes of My Son 

Pondering these moments with Mary reminds me of a passage in Scripture. The prophet Isaiah offers comfort to God’s people with this promise:   

No more shall you be called ‘Forsaken,’ nor your land called ‘Desolate,’ But you shall be called ‘My Delight is in her,” and your land “Espoused.” For the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be espoused. (Isaiah 62:4).   

This promise, meant for all of God’s people, was fulfilled for the Blessed Mother in a unique way. This promise is also meant for us.   

There have been times in my life when I struggled to believe that God really loved me. While I knew that it was possible for God to take delight in His people, I did not know it was possible for Him to take delight in me. All of that changed when I became a mom. One early morning as I walked into my son’s nursery, I saw God’s delight reflected in my son.  

Never before in my life had I seen such joy, happiness, and delight as when I came to the side of the crib to find my beaming baby boy looking at me. As I called “Good morning!” to him in my sing-song voice, he responded with the most radiant smile. After that day, I began to consider that maybe God could delight in me like my son delighted in me, simply because he loves me and can receive my love.   

These morning moments have now become a sacred part of the day, when I feel close to God. Having experienced the light of love in my son’s eyes, I can now better imagine that gaze of God described in Isaiah: the gaze of delight. 

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Copyright 2025 Emily Jerger
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