The gifts behind the tickets

McKenna Snow
MSMU Class of 2023

(12/2022) I am grateful for the many Christmas gifts I have received over the years, but one gift I received last Christmas was particularly special to me. To understand why it meant so much, though, a little backstory is needed.

I grew up on the many albums of John Mayer. His style was a little on the blues side, sometimes on the campy acoustic side. His lyricism was clever and original, and only a handful of his songs didn’t pass my and my mom’s "clean music" standards. This is significant, because John Mayer has released around nine albums; these days, I find it a rarity for a music star to have almost all clean songs in even a single album.

Nonetheless, John Mayer’s music was a familiarity for me that was helpful as I moved all around with my military family. In high school, his song "Neon" became a go-to on grocery runs with my mom (which often turned into trips to get sushi and plants). As I started learning how to play guitar, I grew in appreciation for his incredible talent. I’ve played guitar ever since and still am nowhere near being able to play "Neon," but I’m content with that; basic chords work for me since I prefer singing over playing fancy guitar riffs. Do I wish I could do both? Absolutely. Will I ever be able to? It seems unlikely, but that is okay. I’ll leave that to people like my brother, who actually have the patience and skillset to learn complicated guitar.

When I started dating my boyfriend in college, he had never listened to John Mayer. As we got to know each other and our interests better, John Mayer eventually came up as we decided on what music to play on drives. My boyfriend was attentive in getting to know what was primarily important in my life—my Catholic Faith, my family, friends—but he also payed attention to the secondary things that were important to me: coffee, writing, and music—John Mayer’s especially. He was interested in learning what songs were my favorite and about how it was something I have shared with my family for years.

Our second Christmas as a couple, 2021, my boyfriend handed me two gifts and said I could open either first. I unwrapped the first gift, and found myself holding St. Louis de Montfort’s "True Devotion to Mary." We already had talked about plans for the upcoming spring semester to complete a Marian consecration, and this book would be perfect for preparation for it. I can say with confidence that the Blessed Virgin Mary has had a significant role in our relationship, as praying the rosary together at school daily was a habit for us before he graduated from the Mount, and is still one of our favorite things to do when he visits. I have no doubt that she has listened to our frequent requests for her to pray for us to be holier, more virtuous, and more committed to loving Christ in our relationship. I was incredibly grateful for this book, which was a visible statement of our shared love for the mother of God. Then, I opened the second gift, and saw two tickets to a John Mayer concert in February.

To see John Mayer play "Neon" live? To get to hear the many songs I’ve grown up listening to, but this time, in person? I was so excited. Two months later, I went to this concert with my boyfriend, and it was one of the most special gifts I’ve ever received. It may sound shallow: "concert tickets are one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten!" But that isn’t the point. The significance of his gift that year was all the memories behind it: moments I shared with my mom in the car; playing cards with my siblings and John Mayer playing in the background; my brother being patient enough to teach me how to play a John Mayer guitar song even though it’s practically futile; explaining my favorite songs to my boyfriend on long, happy drives; him learning a John Mayer song on his guitar to cheer me up when I had a bad day; and my dad listening to all two hours of "Where the Light is" on an 8-hour car trip with me, even though he didn’t like John Mayer much at first—he just knew it was special to me. Each of these memories is beautiful in its own way, and these tickets show that behind one gift, there are often many others.

None of these gifts would be quite the same without Jesus and His mother. Behind all of our ordinary interests, there is the story of Mary’s maternal love carrying all of us. The relationships that made my gifts special would not be the same without everything she has taught me through her example in Scripture and the prayers I know she has prayed for all of us. Mary cares for us attentively, inspires hope in our hearts, and helps us orient even small gifts in our lives towards Christ. We bring Christ so much joy when we offer our hobbies and interests—even the simplest ones like enjoying a good John Mayer song—to Him with love.

For Jesus’ birthday, shower Him with gifts of gratitude for all the little blessings in your life. Let Mary teach you how. She received the Magi, who came offering gifts to her newborn son, and directed them to Him. This season and always, she wants to do the same for us as we seek Christ. Indeed, Christmas would not be the same at all without Christ’s Blessed Mother, who courageously brought Christ into the world. Through her "yes," humanity has been given the greatest Christmas gift: Jesus Himself. I am thankful for my many gifts at Christmas, and the ones I receive year-round, but at the heart of it all, I know they all originate in Jesus’ gift of Himself. Let "Glory to God in the highest" be your response this Christmas, knowing that all gifts, great and small, point back to Him. We have much to sing for joy about.