Solemnity of the Annunciation of

“Do not be afraid... for you have found favor with God.” – Luke 1:30

       My family arrived at the airport departure area at about 4 o’clock in the morning for our 7 a.m. flight. I noticed an immense number of people were massing at the check-in counters of almost all the airlines. It seemed impossible for us to reach the counter in time for the cut-off, as the lines were very long.

       I called my friend who was booked at the 6 a.m. flight for the same destination. He arrived at the airport at about 2:30 a.m. but his flight was canceled. No wonder it was chaotic at the departure area.

       My family and I prayed that we would easily get our boarding pass. Suddenly, we saw three computer kiosks for online check-in. In less than 10 minutes, we were able to check in and get our boarding passes.

       All we could do was exclaim, “This is the favor of God!”

Reflection:The Bible says, “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 8:21). Before you leave home for work or any activity, pray for God’s favor to be manifested in whatever you undertake for the day.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the grace You have given us to see Your hand moving in our lives. May we see Your favor manifested in us in many more ways.

St. Dismas, pray for us.

The Lord tells King Ahaz to ask for a sign that will assure his victory over those invading Jerusalem. Ahaz refuses because he does not want to test Him. God is frustrated and sends Isaiah to tell Ahaz that victory will be forthcoming in nine months during the pregnancy of a woman. This refers to the Annunciation, the promise of a Redeemer to be born of a young woman.

10 The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying: 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 Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, 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 which means “God is with us!”

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)

The author of Hebrews reminds us that it is only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that forgives sins. It is only through Jesus that we are saved, not through anything we do or can possibly achieve, but through the grace and actions of Jesus Himself.

4 Brothers and sisters: It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. 5 For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 in 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. 10 By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Mary obediently accepts the will of God to become the mother of our Savior. She has no idea about the consequences of her obedience. She only knows that this is what God is asking her to do. This is the challenge of the Christian way of life – to surrender more and more each day to the will of God.

The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us; and we saw his glory.

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, full of grace! 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.

think: Like Mary, let us do what God calls us to do – no questions asked.

Read the Bible in one year Genesis 34-36

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

At exactly nine months before Christmas, we commemorate the greatest event in history: when God became one of us in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is such an important moment that the Church reminds us of it three times a day when we pray the Angelus at six in the morning, at 12 noon, and at six in the evening — if only we had the time to pause as our grandparents did to pray, “The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary…” and ending it with the triumphant statement, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

       It was the moment that would lead to the climax of Salvation History. God became Man. He was conceived and born for one reason only: to die for us sinners. Fr. Radcliffe, O.P., remarks, “It is astonishing how often in the Bible, God bursts into people’s lives through pregnancies.” There were barren Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth, to mention only three. And now Mary! God called a simple young woman from the unknown small barrio, Nazareth, to be the instrument of this great plan. Imagine, the Almighty God even asked her permission, and the young Mary said yes to God’s plan.

       “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be done with me according to Your word” is one of the world’s greatest prayers ever uttered. It is the prayer that brought God down from heaven to dwell in the soul and body of a lowly young woman. It is the prayer that brought about the greatest event in human history, God becoming human in Jesus. It is a prayer that changed forever the course of human history some 2,000 years ago. This prayer is so different from what has been called the world’s most common prayer, the prayer in which we try to get God to do our will. The world’s most common prayer says, “My will be done,” whereas the world’s greatest prayer says, “Thy will be done.”

       We can only admire the courage of young Mary and ask ourselves the crucial question: Would I have also surrendered completely to God’s plan? Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

----------- REFLECTION QUESTION ------------

When you pray, do you surrender to God’s plan or try to insist that you will be done?

Lord, thank You for giving us Your mother as our mother. Help me to learn from her total surrender to Your will and plan. For You know better than I do. Amen.