Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. For the Church, Christmas is both a celebratory and reflective time/season. In addition to the main day itself (Christmas day), there are several feasts which we celebrate during this season which are meant to help us reflect on the mystery of the Word made flesh. The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God which the Church observes today is one of them. The motherhood of the Blessed Mary, while rightly elevates and puts her on a pedestal for our veneration, is also a cause for celebration by the rest of her brothers and sisters. For it was through Mary’s bearing in her womb the Savior of the universe that Mary’s brothers and sisters were brought back into the path to eternal life. 
In her song of praise (cf. Luke 1:46-56), Mary had pointed out that all generations will forever call her blessed because of what the Lord had done to her. It was upon her that God bestowed the unrepeatable favor of bearing God’s only Son. God, the author of life, chose not only to be incarnated, but also did so through a feeble creature: a female member of the human family. The Lord had done as the Lord had wanted. But, as Elizabeth also pointed out, all generations have forever referred to Mary as blessed because of her own doing (cf. Luke 1:42ff). Mary could have said no to God, and had she said NO, God would not have forced her. Mary could have made excuses - and there were plenty of them: she could have said that she did not belong to the Messianic line (Joseph did); as far as we know, her father was not a high priest, and so Mary might have excused herself by saying that she did not belong to a priestly family. She could have asked the angel for some time to go and discuss the issue with her husband-to-be, Joseph. But no, she didn’t. Despite the strange nature of the angel’s message, Mary still said YES. She trusted in the wisdom of the Lord. 
Mary is blessed because she let herself be what God created her to be, a vehicle of God’s grace: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord…let it be done to me according to your will.” As young as Mary was, she knew that our first call is to do God’s will. Mary knew that doing God’s will is nothing other than TRUSTING in God. She didn’t understand everything that the angel said, but she trusted in the Word of God. If God had said it, then it will sure come to pass. If God said that everything will be ok, then everything was going to be okay. Not only did Mary say YES to the Lord, she also TRUSTED in him. 
Mary is blessed because she was selfless. Mary might have said that she did have her own problems and didn’t want to add the problems of others to her own. But she didn’t. Mother Mary knew and understood that part of being blessed involves becoming a blessing to others. The first thing Mary did after the angel had left her was to run to her cousin in order to share the good news with her and to be there for her in her time of need. Mary knew that the Word of God that she carried within her was not hers to keep. The Word had to be shared with others and however gut wrenching it turned out to be, she never pulled back. 
Mary is blessed because she remained faithful to her call. Mary might not have known what kind of blessings or cursesJesus would bring to her family. She might not have fully understood the message of the angel about Jesus ruling in the stead of David. Mary might not have fully understood the words of Simeon about a sword piercing her heart. Only later as the child Jesus grew did she come to understand what it all meant. But even then, she remained Jesus’ no. 1 fan. Yes, Mary might not have fully understood the call and life of Jesus. At least a couple of times in the Gospels we are told she thought he was out of his mind. We can imagine the kind of pain Mary underwent as she followed Jesus on his way to Golgotha. But she was present all the way to the cross. Even then, she might not have understood, but she TRUSTED in the Lord. She trusted that some good would come out of it. God had said it, and God cannot lie. In all that happened, Mary was able to continue TRUSTING because she believed that God’s promises would be fulfilled. 
The Church celebrates the motherhood of Blessed Mary on this octave of Christmas because she is not only the mother of Jesus but the mother of the Church as well (she is our mother). Through Mary, we have received the author of our salvation. Through Mary’s motherhood, we have once again been found worthy to be called sons and daughters of God. May our celebration of the motherhood of Mary remind us that, like her, we too have what it takes to become vehicles of God’s grace. May we know that we too can become Christ-bearers to our brothers and sisters.