Opening Prayer

Lord, I thank you for this day. Please help me to settle my mind from distractions and fill me with your peace. Quieten my heart so I can open my ears to your word and be ready to receive what I need.

Scripture

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “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 holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection

The angel Gabriel announced to Mary, a teenager, that she was soon to become pregnant out of wedlock, and that the son to be born would be the son of God. A bit overwhelming, don’t you think? God had a different perspective on teenagers than we do. No wonder Mary needed to hear those words “Do not be afraid” As St Teresa of Avila says, “I know the power of obedience of making things easy which seems impossible” (Interior Castle). We do not know how much Mary understood, but she is a model for us to trust when things are not clear to us. When God commands, He also gives us the help, strength, and means to respond. Mary did not question whether this was going to happen, but rather how it would happen, trying to understand the logistics – fair enough. Is this a lesson for us? It’s ok to trust God and still have questions. Mary trusted, but she was open to God’s will in her life; her faith was not based on comfort or ease, but on trust in God’s plan. After all, Mary knew that she might lose everything important to her, dreaming of a wedding celebration in the usual way, her friends and family questioning who would believe she was a virgin? Because of Mary’s “Yes”, we have the greatest gift of all in Jesus. Saying yes may not be an easy one for us either, like caring for others, having to endure suffering and grief, etc. We continually need to ask God for the grace to say, “May it be done to me according to your word”.

Reflection Prayer

Lord, when I cannot see your purpose, calm my questioning heart.
Teach me also to wait in faith and to trust your wiser plan.
Help me to welcome surprises when they come, trusting in your loving ways.
In my waiting, let faith grow quietly within me.

Concluding prayer

Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ (Patient Trust)