Ten years ago, I quietly jumped on the prayer-word-of-the-year bandwagon. I have no wall art or bracelets. If you asked my family, they would likely be surprised at this practice. But I’ve found it to be an increasingly beautiful devotion. As the quiet, dark waiting of Advent begins, I begin seeking a word or phrase. As I meditate each day, I ask God to place on my heart some aspect of his will for me, some catchphrase that I can turn to throughout the year. When I open this door, consistently reading Scripture, listening with great care at Mass, and turning to the Holy Spirit frequently during the day, something will bubble up again and again. And I grab it, like a lifeline. 

I find that when prayer dries up, when my voice threatens to drown out God’s murmurings in my heart, when sadness threatens to overwhelm me, or the uncertainty of the many decisions of daily life weigh on me, and I turn to this word, it steadies me. Like a rudder. A beacon. A way of cutting through the noise. 

This year was “behold.” A tall order actually. Only once this word was brought to my attention did I notice how often God directs us to behold. In the Nativity story alone we hear, Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Is 7:14), and Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy (Lk 2:10); Behold, this child is set for the fall and rise of many in Israel’ (Lk 2:34), as well as, And behold, the star that they had seen in the East went before them (Mt 2:9). And of course, there is Mary’s momentous “yes” to God, allowing God’s great plan of salvation to unfurl: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord (Lk 1:38). 

Behold has several meanings: “to perceive with the visual faculty” as in “see” or “to perceive through use of the mental faculty” as in “comprehend or to look upon; gaze at.” In the imperative, it simply calls attention to what is about to follow. I’ve found all of these to be rich paths for contemplation, to see with the eyes, to see with the mind, to comprehend, to gaze at or simply to notice something that perhaps I’ve grown deaf to from familiarity. 

Be+hold is another avenue for reflection; the contradiction of “being” and “holding,” perhaps a kind of active contemplation? Here, I am reminded of one of my favorite Scripture verses, But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart (Lk 2:19). It seems to me that mothers are especially called to this work of “beholding”—of being with others, seeing and comprehending them as persons while holding them in her heart. 

Lastly, at every Mass, we are invited to, “Behold, the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” To take notice of him, present on the altar, to gaze upon him with our eyes, to comprehend him with our minds, and then to physically and spiritually hold him within us. Amazing! Behold!