Song of the Arctic tern

We didn't notice these eggs, so well they blended into their surrounds. However the mother was making sure we knew about them, swooping time after time with her startling call. She could only be ignored at great peril. It was a sacred moment, tiptoeing around this gift of life not yet born. That sacredness came back to me today as I reflected on this week's gospel from Luke - The Magnificat - sung by Mary in response to the weighty news that she should bear God's son. That gift of life crept into Mary's womb and made its way to a well hidden stable where the Son of God was born. And unless we continue to herald the good news, it will go unnoticed today. And the gift of life will remain unborn. So much potential lost for the lack of a song.