Theme:
Christ’s humanity began in the darkness of the womb, formed cell by cell in silence and mystery.
What does it mean to say that God was once hidden, dependent, becoming?
Opening Prayer
God of hidden beginnings,
You knit your Word into human flesh
in the shelter of Mary’s womb.
Teach us to honour the sacred space of becoming :
the silence before the song,
the hiddenness before the birth.
May we tread gently on this holy ground.
Amen.
Scripture Reading
Psalm 139:13–16; “You knit me together in my mother’s womb…”
John 1:1–14; “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.”
Reflection Starter
Read aloud
Before Christ walked, taught, or healed, he was hidden – unseen, unknown, growing slowly in the darkness of a womb.
He was nourished by Mary’s blood. He heard her heartbeat from within.
He could do nothing by himself : the Creator of all things, utterly dependent.
This is the mystery of the Incarnation, God becoming human : God did not arrive fully formed. God chose to become – cell by cell, heartbeat by heartbeat.
The womb, that place of hidden transformation, becomes holy ground. A sanctuary. A temple.
The first tabernacle.
Francis of Assisi understood this. He bent low in awe before the mystery of God made flesh. He rejoiced in the vulnerability of Christ in the crib – and long before the manger, Christ was vulnerable in the womb.
In a world that rewards power, achievement, and speed, what might we learn from the God who began in silence, darkness, in nine months of waiting and of dependence on another?
Discussion Questions
- What images or emotions arise for you when you imagine Christ in the womb?
- How does the hiddenness of Jesus’ beginning affect how you understand God?
- Why might God have chosen to come in such vulnerability and obscurity?
- Are there places in your life right now that feel hidden, slow-growing, or in process?
- What does it mean to trust the slow work of God? Embodied Response
Activity (Optional)
Contemplating Hiddenness
Give each person a small seed or stone to hold in silence.
Invite them to reflect on the hidden things God is growing in their lives. You may say:
“This is the womb of time. This is the slow becoming.
Trust what is unseen. God is at work in the darkness.”
Wondering Questions
- I wonder what it was like for Mary to feel God moving inside her.
- I wonder why God came in such a small, hidden way.
- I wonder what hidden things God is growing in me.
- I wonder if there are parts of life we rush past that might be holy ground.
Closing Prayer
God of silence,
God of womb and waiting,
teach us to see with reverence the hidden spaces.
May we welcome the mystery of becoming,
and honour the slow unfolding of grace in our own lives.
As Mary bore Christ in secret,
may we bear the light of Christ with quiet faith. Amen.
Between Sessions Invitation
This week, take 5 minutes a day to sit in stillness and pray:
“Christ, formed in the womb, form me in hidden places.”
Notice any places in your life where something quiet but sacred may be growing. People may also wish to use our daily Reflection materials.
