THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME; JESUS AND MARY

What is a candle without a flame?

But how can the flame burn without the candle?

Mary is the candle.  She supplies the human nature.  She holds the flame.  In her womb, she bore God made flesh.  In her soul untouched by sin, He was there before, during and after she bore Him.  Because of her, the divine fire can burn in a visible, human way in the incarnation of Jesus. 

As mother, we can hold her without fear of injury.  She is as harmless as the candle's cool wax.

Christ is the fire.  He is God.  He brings light and warmth to our dark and cold world.  But we must keep at a respectful distance, as we do with any fire.  Though close to us in His human nature, He is also God, whom we cannot approach except with deep humility and reverence, for God resists the proud but lifts up the lowly.