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. (Luke 1.26-38)
This Sunday, the readings invite us to contrast our response to God's call for our lives with that of our Blessed Mother, Mary. The story of the annunciation is a famous one and one in which we are all well aware of.
I have remarked, recently, that we are not only preparing to mark the birth of Jesus in history, at Christmas, but we also preparing to welcome Christ at the end of time.
These weeks of Advent invite us to look at how we mold our lives in the manner in which Jesus lived His life. Look at the example with which he grew up with: His mother's 'yes' to God all those many years ago would shape His life as well.
Mary trusted in the angel's assurance that God would bless her with every grace her life would require if she just trusted in God's will for her. It is astounding. A young women with her whole life ahead of her gave her will and her life over to the care of God and lovingly followed His plan for her. It was her vocation to bring Life into the world in the messiah, her Son, Jesus.
Are we able to imitate that trust amidst our own fears and frailty? Are we able to accept our role in the bringing of the Prince of Peace into the world within our families and within our homes? Are we prepared to help others in recognizing God's call for themselves in this life? Do our actions and decisions contribute to the building up of God's Kingdom here on earth? These are difficult questions which we must ask ourselves.
We are called to trust in God's strength in our lives that we will be able to accomplish God's will for us if we just put aside our own agendas in favor of the One who has called us "out of darkness into his own wonderful light." (Isaiah)
Let us not be afraid. Let us pray for the grace to imitate Mary's faith and trust in God's promise to her and to our world. We call upon God's Holy Spirit to guide us in the coming days that as Advent comes to a close and we welcome Christ at Christmas we too will also have hearts which are ready to embrace the Prince of Peace when He comes at the end of time.
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