READINGS for 2009-03-25
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
MISSION POSSIBlE
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” – Luke 1:37
Have you ever felt that God was too busy and that you’re too insignificant for Him to even think about you?
I did. Until I heard this beautiful exposition about the Exodus. Moses and the Israelites were in the desert. They needed to eat and feeding two or three million people would require 1,500 tons of food each day. Hauling that much food would require two freight trains at least a mile long each.
To cook all that food, they’d need 4,000 tons of wood for fire. Add a few more freight trains just for one day. And to think that they were 40 years in transit!
Oh, and don’t forget the water. They’d need 11,000 gallons each day just for drinking and washing dishes.
So do you think Moses had this all figured out before they left Egypt?
I don’t think so.
But Moses believed God. And God took care of all these things for him and his people.
Now do you still think God has any problem taking care of all your needs? Annette Abad-Flores
REFLECTION:
Our God is an Awesome God! So when the road we travel seems to be difficult, remember to pray… and God will do the rest.
Bless us today, Lord. Guide us and protect us. May Your love be with us. And as we surrender to You our cares, we know that You’ll see us through.
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1st READING
From the beginning, God’s call upon our lives requires us to respond in faith to His promises. The details, such as the actual promises and the people to whom they are made, may change from time to time, but the basic dynamic of a call to faith and trust does not change, not now, nor ever. The challenge we all face in our faith is to trust that God’s promises to us will be fulfilled.
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
10 The LORD spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!” 12 But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” 13 Then he said: “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, 8: 10 “God is with us!”
P S A L M
Psalm 40:7-8a. 8b-9. 10. 11
R: Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
6 [7] Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; 7 [8] then said I, “Behold I come.” (R) “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, 8 [9] to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!” (R) 9 [10] I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. (R) 10 [11] Your justice I kept not hid within my heart; your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of; I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly. (R)
2nd READING
Obedience is far more costly to us and far more acceptable to God than any burnt offerings or sacrifices can ever be. Faith is something that comes from within our hearts and maybe from within our being, not just some sort of external act that can be performed by anyone. There is a deep cost involved with faith as faith always includes surrendering our lives to the will of God.
Hebrews 10:4-10
4 Brothers and sisters: It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. 5 For this reason, when he came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. 7 Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.’ ” 8 First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. 9 Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second.
G O S P E L
Mary was probably still quite a young girl when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and proposed God’s will for her life. Mary’s ‘yes’ is an extraordinary example of faith and as such ought to inspire us to make a similar response. If a young girl can make such a sacrifice to follow God’s will there ought to be nothing to stop us from doing the same.
Luke 1:26-38
26 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 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. 36 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; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 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.
my reflections
think: God’s call upon our lives requires us to respond in faith. 10 By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
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God’s special verse/thought for me today________________ _________________________________________________________
T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________
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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Psalm 61-65
Psalm 61-65
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Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
“fiaT”
Have you ever met an eccentric person? Have you ever tried to be a kind of person who is out of place?
It is fitting to know that during the time of Mary, to conceive without a husband is to commit a grave sin which is punishable by death. A woman is stoned until she dies. Our Blessed Virgin Mary could have sensed the fear of being peculiar in her time.
“How can this be since I have no relations with a man?”
But then, with her trust and faith in the Lord, our Blessed Mother said her “fiat” (yes) to the call of God to be the bearer of our Lord Jesus Christ, Theotokos. In so doing, she became the world’s first tabernacle.
Our Blessed Mother did not allow herself to be intimidated by the pressures of her time. She said her “yes” with courage and with a firm trust in God, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Thus, our Blessed Mother is the model of faith. She obediently accepted the plan of God, though it seemed so eccentric or strange or even weird in the eyes of the people during her time. She trusted the plan of God though it seemed so unclear to her. She still gave her “yes” to the Lord.
Mary always says “Yes” to God.
This Sunday we celebrate the Annunciation of our Lord and in this celebration, may we imitate the “fiat” of our Blessed Mother. Let us stand under the mystery of God’s plan for us, so that we may understand the saving power of God. We may become eccentric, strange or even weird in the eyes of others. But if we give our “yes” to God with firm faith, we can never be out of place. Fr. Joel O. Jason
Reflection Question:
Think about this: God expects us to do the natural. Then He will supply the supernatural. In extreme cases, God may demand that we do the ridiculous, then He will supply the miraculous.
Lord, with the Blessed Mother, grant me the grace to be courageous in living out Your will.
St. Lucy Filippini, Virgin, pray for us.
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