I sat in the pew, raw and bleeding. How could no one see this wound? Then, during Communion, we began to sing the Anima Christi. I've sung this prayer countless times before, but something shifted when we reached the line: "Within your wounds hide me." The words pierced through me. Why would we ask to be hidden inside wounds? Wounds are places of pain, of brokenness, of vulnerability. They're the last place anyone would choose as a hiding spot.

The Annunciation has a very special place in my heart as a mom of loss and someone who has also experienced primary and secondary infertility. I always looked at it as this miraculous event where even when conception seemed impossible, it wasn't with God. It was hopeful that we might miraculously conceive. As I have gone through my own journey, I've gleaned deeper meaning from this intimate encounter with Mary, the Angel Gabriel and our Lord.

How often are we ignored? Made to feel that because our bodies can’t do this specific thing or look a certain way, we matter less. All we want is to be seen. Even if we are not gifted like young Matilda, we all have talents and interests, things that should be celebrated instead of tolerated or flat-out rejected.