Solemnity of the Annuniciation
Read It:
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.
Reflect on It: Today we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation, when Mary said "yes" to becoming the mother of her Lord and our Savior! Mary spent her life learning about God and His Law (the Torah) and this prepared her to make her fiat (her Yes to God). Like Mary, we must continually strive to know God and His Word so that when God invites us to participate in His redeeming work, we can, like Mary, make our own fiat and say Yes!
The angel Gabriel reminds us that nothing is impossible with God; He can do the unlikely and improbably (like Elizabeth getting pregnant after so many years of barrenness) AND the impossible (the virgin Mary getting pregnant). Keep that in mind when it feels like God is asking you to do the impossible - He can still make it happen, He just wants you to say "Yes!" to helping!
Irene wrote this blog post. We're repeating it from last year because it's so good!
Pray About It: Help me to say "yes" Lord to whatever you ask of me. I love you. Amen!
Live It! Challenge: Today, we celebrate in the midst of Lent. Lenten fasts do not have to be observed, so today's challenge is to celebrate our Sweet Lady, Mary!
0 comments:
Post a Comment