DECEMBER 20

OUR LADY FULL OF GRACE

MASS READINGS:

Gospel

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, 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 Lordi in. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

REFLECTION

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Over 2000 years ago an unimportant young woman said "yes" allowing God to be born within her. For those who have travelled to the Holy Land and visited the home of Our Lady in Nazareth, where the Annunciation took place, and the birthplace of Jesus, the grotto in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, we find ourselves kneeling, kissing and singing with the angels, "Gloria, gloria, gloria, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will".

May the good Lord be born in us and may Mother Mary show us how to live the fiat in our daily lives. Let His will be done to us just as God wishes. Is God waiting for our answer to His call? How are we bringing joy of the Lord, His love to others?

Slow down, in spite of the fact that we have only one week left before the final Christmas hustle and contemplate why we are celebrating this redemptive love of God.

God Bless You