Saturday,
December 20, 2014
3rd Week of Advent
1st Reading: Is 7:10–14
Gospel: Lk 1:26–38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.
But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob forever and his reign shall have no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be if I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child, and she is now in her sixth month.
With God nothing is impossible.”
Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in
the Assimilated
Life Experience)
The greatness of Mary lies in her complete trust in the Lord. Today’s Gospel is about one of her great acts of faith. Although she did not understand perfectly what was in store for her after the Annunciation, she placed her life in the hands of God.
Her total trust in the Lord brought her to perfect communion with God. Physically, such communion was perfect because she carried Jesus in the womb. Isn’t the womb of a woman closest to her heart? Emotionally, such communion was unbreakable as she “kept and pondered everything of Jesus in her heart”. Volitionally, such communion was solidly grounded as she lived out what she said at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you”. In Mary we learn that Communion with God means trusting in Him.
Communion with others also means trusting them. Let us apply this concept to husband and wife relationship since one’s closest neighbor is his or her spouse. The real test of your trust in the other happens when your spouse, your husband for example, arrives home drunk. Can you welcome him with the same warmth, serve his favorite soup at table and listen to his story early dawn when his mind is cool? This total trust is a big leap towards perfect communion with one another and with God. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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