If Our Lady had an Ultrasound

This morning, Jennie and I went to the doctor's office to get her first ultrasound. From what I could see in her face, it wasn't the most comfortable thing. We'll bypass the obvious objection of Mary's virginal integrity (some ultrasounds are vaginal, which would not befit our Lady) and ask the question of a later-term ultrasound (done through the abdominal wall): what if Our Lady had received an ultrasound?

I think there is something absolutely amazing about ultrasound technology. Our baby was quite still until something apparently spooked him or her, and limbs started moving everywhere, almost as part of a little dance, and then the baby stopped again and settled down once more. Still more incredible was the heartbeat (apparently a healthy 167 beats per minute, well beyond the rate of an adult human). The baby appears to have a basic human shape, although part of me wants to ridicule him/her for the enlarged cerebral cortex that makes up the bulk of the child's current mass. All joking aside, even a little white colored, kidney bean shaped little image of a child is capable of inspiring great love in a father's heart.

I imagine that Mary was already in deep contemplation of Our Lord in her womb, and perhaps the ultrasound would not have done too much for her, but for St. Joseph, this could have been nothing less than a beautiful call to greater holiness and devotion in his fatherhood, as I feel called now while reflecting on this morning's events. If Mary had had an ultrasound, I have no doubt it would have led to greater devotion and love, which is what such technology should be used for, rather than what the atrocities it is sometimes used for today. Imagine seeing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords on an ultrasound in the womb of Mary. Think about it: you would be witnessing a human body infused with a human soul, created by the Divine Person who has taken on that flesh, given life by the Spirit that overshadows the Blessed Virgin. Consider seeing the Incarnation at its early stages, seeing the vibrancy of life in those days that Mary dwelt with Elizabeth. If St. John the Baptist could tell that his Lord was before him without seeing Him, how much more would we be able to see Our Lord before us in the womb of Mary, and how many of us would recognize Him? God, desiring to be entirely human, enters the world through a means both miraculous and mundane, and honors fetal development as a part of His life.

It is an awesome gift to be able to witness this gift of life, blessed by Christ Himself, in the womb of my wife.

Jennie and I have almost decided to opt for the new 3-D ultrasound at a later date. It will be some $200 out-of-pocket, but well worth the cost of seeing our child as God is developing him or her, an opportunity to see human life even as God is still forming it in the womb.

Ultrasounds are an immense blessing to fatherhood, and to parenthood in general. They allow us to bond with our children more completely before birth, and perhaps provide us with more time to prepare for the wonderful gift of life. I can tell you one thing: this child is not a clump of cells, but a living, vibrant being, calling on the Lord's Name even from the womb, and rejoicing in an unspoken language the praises of God, the Creator of all life.

Now, for those of you who are curious:



Aaron Michael or Mary Catherine Murphy

His Servant and Yours,

Micah Murphy