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| Unlimited Mercy | | | Let us run with confidence to the tribunal of penance, where He waits for you at all times with the anxiety of a father; and although we are conscious of our debt towards Him, let us not doubt the solemn pardon of our sins. Let us bury them as our Lord has done. | | |
Annunciation of the Lord
 The feast of the Annunciation, now recognized as a solemnity, was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Now, as Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realized. The God-Man embraces all humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).
Mary has an important role to play in God's plan. From all eternity God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. We could say that God's decrees of creation and redemption are joined in the decree of Incarnation. Because Mary is God's instrument in the Incarnation, she has a role to play with Jesus in creation and redemption. It is a God-given role. It is God's grace from beginning to end. Mary becomes the eminent figure she is only by God's grace. She is the empty space where God could act. Everything she is she owes to the Trinity. She is the virgin-mother who fulfills Isaiah 7:14 in a way that Isaiah could not have imagined. She is united with her son in carrying out the will of God (Psalm 40:8-9; Hebrews 10:7-9; Luke 1:38). Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life. She exemplifies what the Church and every member of the Church is meant to become. She is the ultimate product of the creative and redemptive power of God. She manifests what the Incarnation is meant to accomplish for all of us.
"Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as 'full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28). To the heavenly messenger she replies: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God's saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God" (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 56).
 Saint of the DayLives, Lessons and FeastBy Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
Presence God is with me, but more, God is within me. Let me dwell for a moment on God's life-giving presence in my body, in my mind, in my heart, as I sit here, right now.
Freedom
Lord, you created me to live in freedom.
May your Holy Spirit guide me to follow you freely.
Instil in my heart a desire
To know and love you more each day. Consciousness In the presence of my loving Creator, I look honestly at my feelings over the last day, the highs, the lows and the level ground. Can I see where the Lord has been present? The Word of God Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us!" R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
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. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
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;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"
First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in."
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will."
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 1:14ab The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us;
and we saw his glory. 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.
Listen to audio of this reading
Watch a video reflection
Conversation Begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture you have just read. What part of it strikes a chord in you? Perhaps the words of a friend - or some story you have heard recently - will slowly rise to the surface of your consciousness. If so, does the story throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to you? Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
 Meditation: Luke 1:26-38 Subscriber? Login to view archives. The Annunciation of the Lord Hail, full of grace! (Luke 1:28) From a homily by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090--1153): "You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us. "The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life. "Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race. "Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word. "Why do you delay, why are you afraid? ... Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word." "Jesus, let your will be done in me as it was in your holy Mother." Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
Psalm 40:7-11
Hebrews 10:4-10
Full of Grace
my2cents:
I was listening yesterday to EWTN catholic radio and I heard a lady call in on a show to share her story about visiting a Planned Parenthood many years ago, maybe like 20-30 years ago. She got a pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant, and she got so super excited that it scared the workers who were not used to such excitement, for they were used to the other reaction, one of doom and gloom and death, whereupon they usually offer an abortion (their money maker), which is still the case today. But the lady says she knows in her heart that those workers were astounded in a positive way, to have seen someone so happy that they were going to give life. Such is the case for our Blessed Mother today, a holy woman from holy parents betrothed to a holy man. 9 months from today it will be the birth of what happens in our celebration today...the announcement, the annunciation, and the incarnation (becoming flesh) at conception of the God of the Universe, the flesh for the life of the world.
By now, the holy of holies had disappeared the old ark of the covenant. And now the Messiah was announced, by the mere word He came to be, the pregnancy, the life of life, oh what a most beautiful moment in history, to which we bow down (we are supposed to bow down anyway) during the creed in Holy Mass:
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. God became what He already was and is and ever will be..."among us", the Word among us, Emmanuel, called Jesus the Holiest name on the planet and in the Heavens, and Jesus means He Saves. The Blessed Mother's yes to the Lord's angel, such should be our response when we are asked for something for the Lord, YES, and excited YES. She would later say in her magnificat in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1: "...The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him."
In the oldest of bibles, where the book of Maccabees exists, before it was taken out by protestants in their bibles, it spoke of Jeremiah when they lost the ark "...the place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people and receive them to mercy. And then the Lord will shew these things, and the majesty of the Lord shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also shewed to Moses, and he shewed it when Solomon prayed that the place might be sanctified to the great God. (2 Maccabees 2:4-8)". An overshadow of light.
God thundered above Jesus in a cloud and Moses appears at a time, here, here stands the covenant, the new promise, JESUS! And the new ark of the covenant that would behold Him? Mary, the blessed forever. Blessed, favored, chosen, to be the flesh that would give flesh to our Lord. This is beautiful isn't it? And so, we live in a world that says "ok, how does this apply to me?" which is the reason I began writing my2cents I guess about 10 years ago, to answer that question. The only way all this applies is to see and do what we hear. This announcement is God coming into your life. You are chosen to give life to Jesus in your life. ARE YOU EXCITED? At Holy Communion He comes inside man or woman, holy or not (and we should be holier to receive Him). I gave testimony last Thursday at our praising night "...there is a moment in life a very fine moment where we can ask for our Lord to let myself be changed and that is the moment right before He comes into us". Ask for this. What if Mary was asking for the Lord to come into her? What if Mary was asking to be used for His Kingdom? And what if God answered the prayers of a holy person that changed the world? How does this apply to me? Strive for piety (holiness). I told the congregations at Mass that I am praying for their holiness. Last night at our penance (confession) with various priests, someone said later "there was alot of people". Thank you Jesus. Because I told the congregation that I had prayed alot for them and still do, for their holiness, and as we left the community rosary after praying that, we walked outside the church and saw a sign...a rainbow across the sky. God's promise. And He keeps His promise, even though we fail. The Angel Gabriel said so many things about Jesus and that He would be King forever. This King is mighty to save and available to you for salvation.
So what's in it for me? Salvation. What's in it for others? Salvation. What did He come for? Salvation. What do you want?
NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS OH LORD!!!
SO AWESOME
 adrian
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