December 20, 2014

Read It:
In the sixth month,
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.
Reflect on It: As you can see, this is the same Gospel from Sunday. It's important to notice that we are still called to preparation for our Lord. We still have a last leg of the race to run. Let's finish off Advent strong. We are waiting in joyful hope and anticipation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. How are we called to say yes to him in a profound way this week?

Pray About It: Sweet Jesus, you are coming on Sunday, help my heart to be ready.

Live It! Challenge: Get your soul clean by going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconcile yourself to God through this sacrament. There are extra opportunities for confession at parishes across the diocese and St. James is offering confessions today from 3:30-4:30 and at 7:30 pm.