Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I. reminds us of the contemplative commitment of giving birth spiritually:
First, like Mary, we need to get pregnant by the Holy Spirit. We need to let the word take such root in us that it begins to become part of our actual flesh.
Eventually, of course, we must give birth. . . .
Birth, however, is only the beginnings of motherhood. Mary had to spend years nurturing, coaxing, and cajoling that infant into adulthood. The infant in the crib at Bethlehem is not yet the Christ who preaches, heals, and dies for us. . . .
Finally, [ike Mary, a mother] must let herself be painfully stretched in understanding, in not knowing, in carrying tension, in letting go. She must set free to be itself [the child] that was once so fiercely hers. The pains of childbirth are often gentle compared to this second wrenching.
Our task too is to give birth to Christ.  From Mary we get the pattern: Let the word of God take root and make you pregnant; gestate that by giving it the nourishing sustenance of your own life; submit to the pain that is demanded for it to be born to the outside; then spend years coaxing it from infancy to adulthood; and finally, during and after all of this, do some pondering, accept the pain of not understanding and of letting go.
Christmas began with Mary, but each of us is asked to make our own contribution to giving flesh to faith in the world.
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