In our world, the world of political commentary and social strife, it’s incredibly hard to look at the bright side of things. The world we live in is one filled with darkness, at times, and it can seem painful to have to slog through. As the saying goes, all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Sometimes, in the world we live in, it seems like a lot of good men have done nothing, doesn’t it?

But, today, one of the greatest days for those of us with faith, we don’t have to think about all the good men who did nothing. We only have to think about the one good person who did everything.

In Catholic doctrine, we refer to it as Mary’s fiat, which is Latin for “Let it be,” the phrase she told the angel Gabriel when he announced she would be tasked with bringing the Son of God into the world.

When you think about it, the young woman named Mary, who was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph, had everything to lose by conceiving a child out of wedlock. At best, her engagement would be over and her reputation ruined. Nevertheless, Mary accepted the task God had given her. It was nothing short of a game changer.

That brings us, nine months later, to today. We celebrate the birth of Mary’s son, Jesus of Nazareth, and all that he brought into the world. He represented a change, something we hadn’t seen before. He was God’s Grace, His ability to forgive, and all it took to bring about this revolution was one person allowing it.

That’s a pretty major thing. That is what today represents. Amid the presents, the food, the family gatherings, the church services, and the travel, there is a presence that is only possible because Mary said “Let it be.” We can say one person can change the world as a motivator, but Mary lived that. Without her, there is no Jesus. There is no Christmas.

So, today, reflect on that moment. Reflect on how, in the presence of God’s messenger, a young woman who would no doubt have been startled by an angel’s sudden appearance, gave her assent to the proposal that she would carry God’s child.

One of the greatest songs of this time of year is “Mary, Did You Know?” It’s hard to imagine that someone who was young, unmarried, and suddenly found herself pregnant could fully understand what she was bringing into the world. But Mary had faith. She allowed it to happen, and the result was a world-changing child.

All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. But for good to succeed, it just took one woman.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and God bless.