The Solemnity of the Annunciation, celebrated on March 25th, honors the profound meeting between the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, as recorded in St. Luke's Gospel. On this day St. Gabriel announced to Mary Immaculate that she would miraculously conceive a Child by the Holy Spirit, the long-awaited Messiah who would save mankind from their sins. This is the moment of the Blessed Virgin Mary's great fiat of perfect submission to the Divine will. This day on which the Church celebrates the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in the womb of His Blessed Mother is exactly nine months before the Feast of the Nativity on December 25th. † Quote of the Day "Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." — St. Rose of Lima Today's Meditation "[Mary] does not remain locked in her initial troubled state at the proximity of God in his angel, but she seeks to understand. So Mary appears as a fearless woman, one who remains composed even in the presence of something utterly unprecedented. At the same time she stands before us as a woman of great interiority, who holds heart and mind in harmony and seeks to understand the context, the overall significance of God's message. In this way, she becomes an image of the Church as she considers the word of God, tries to understand it in its entirety and guards in her memory the things that have been given to her." —Pope Benedict XVI, p. 33 An excerpt from Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives Daily Verse "Teach me thy way, O Lord, that I may walk in thy truth; unite my heart to fear thy name. I give thanks to thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever. For great is thy steadfast love toward me; thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol." — Psalm 86:11-13 | St. Dismas
St. Dismas (1st c.) is the name Church tradition has given to the "Good Thief," one of the two criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus Christ on Good Friday. All we know about St. Dismas is what is mentioned of him in the Gospels: "Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, 'Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.' The other [St. Dismas] however, rebuking him, said in reply, 'Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.'" Then St. Dismas, as an expression of his faith in Christ as the Messiah, said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus replied to St. Dismas, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:39-42). The feast day of St. Dismas is March 25. | Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Lectionary: 545
Reading 1 Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 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!" Responsorial Psalm Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11 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. Reading 2 Hebrews 10:4-10 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 John 1:14ab The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us;
and we saw his glory. Gospel Luke 1:26-38 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. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son. (Isaiah 7:14) Today's readings for the feast of the Annunciation offer a stark contrast between belief and unbelief, between trust and doubt. In our first reading, Ahaz, the king of Judah, is distressed to the breaking point by the dangers facing his kingdom. Isaiah prophesies to him, "Remain calm and do not fear" (7:4). Fine words, but Ahaz needs troops, allies—something practical. He says he will not ask for a sign because he doesn't want to tempt God (7:12), but deep down he does not believe that God can stop the invading armies. So Isaiah asks him, "Must you . . . weary my God?" (7:13). In this, Ahaz is not alone. Starting from Genesis, the Bible provides one example after another of people failing to trust that God would take care of them. That's how you weary God! Ahaz does not believe God can stop an army, but the Lord goes far beyond that: "The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, . . . which means 'God is with us!'" (Isaiah 7:14; 8:10). While the immediate fulfillment of this prophecy was Ahaz's son, the righteous King Hezekiah, God also had something even greater in mind: a pure Virgin named Mary would bear a son who is truly "God with us"! Notice how this truly awesome gift is accomplished. In contrast to Ahaz, Mary does not weary God. She responds to the angel's announcement with faith and trust. She asks him how such a marvelous thing will happen. But when the angel says that "nothing will be impossible for God," she simply replies, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:37, 38). We might struggle to have the same faith and trust that Mary had. But remember: God has already done the impossible for you. He has given you Emmanuel, the One who became man to save you from your sins and to be with you into eternity. Today, as you celebrate this special feast, thank God for his love and faithfulness. Then ask for the grace to trust in all his promises! "Holy Mary, teach me to place all my trust in your son!" Psalm 40:7-11
Hebrews 10:4-10
Luke 1:26-38 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's Holy Gospel: "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?......" - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Robert Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces that she will conceive the Messiah. Mary, understandably surprised, asks, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" to which the angel replies, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." The virginity of the mother of Christ is fitting for a number of reasons. First, it indicates, as clearly as possible, that God is involved in the coming to be of Jesus. Though human cooperation, at both the physical and moral level, is required, the Incarnation would not have happened without a gracious divine initiative. Further, it signals that the Incarnation involves not simply a revolution in the moral and spiritual order but an entirely new creation. Just as Adam, on the biblical telling, is made through the direct causality of God, so the New Adam is made de novo, and not in the ordinary course. Finally, the virginity of Mary is a sign of the purity and completeness of her devotion to God, making her a fit vessel for the divine Messiah. She becomes mother in the physical order, though she is given utterly over to God; she is, as classical Christian piety would have it, spouse of the Holy Spirit. All of this, one might argue, is summed up in the greeting that the angel gives Mary at the Annunciation, the most sublime offered to any human being in the biblical tradition: kecharitomene, "full of grace."
..." end quote Roberto.
From Roberto Juarez:
"Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." María does not demand further explanations or guarantees. He gives himself completely to God. Am I able to say "yes" to God, even if I don't understand His whole plan? • How do I respond when God invites me to trust Him? • Do I have Mary's willingness to say "let it be done to me" in difficult moments? • Do I abandon myself in faith to God's will, knowing that He never abandons me? 'Lord
Like Mary, I want to say "yes" to you with all my heart.
Increase my faith to trust in your plan,
even if he doesn't always understand it.
Help me to surrender to your will with humility and love.
Like Mary, may my life be a witness to your grace.
Amen.'
From brother Adrian:
My brothers and my sisters in the Greek translation it sounds like the Virgin, our Virgin Mother Mary says:
"Then said Mary unto the
angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man?" In the beginning God created Man. And then from Him came the WoMan. That is to say, the one that comes from Man. We are imparted as of from His very flesh, and not only that, but from His very image, and not only that, but in Baptism of His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. What the Virgin Mother then is, supremely special, a special creation from God. This all in of itself, should give us great encouragement, that we are His, and His we ought to desire to be like our Blessed mother who said I do not KNOW man, which means "I do NOT have relations with man" which means she is a perpetual virgin that was consecrated from a very early age, because by this time she was probably about 14 years old or a quinceanera a 15 year old maybe ? LOL. Do girls consecrate their virginity to God anymore, at about this age or earlier? Do any save themselves forever for God like this?
Why did Blessed Mother do this? They say she awaited the coming of the Messiah, in Holy Purity. She was also said to have been a temple virgin. She was offered to God from a very early age, and she herself offered herself to God. They say that in her deepest prayers she would pray that God the Father would use her to usher in the Messiah, the coming Savior, to save the world.
And her prayer was heard.
The ArchAngel Gabriel appears, and she is afraid, but not of the angel, but of the message, to bear a child, which she never dreamed of having a baby, and not only that, but the child of God.
HOW? But, but HOW? How can this ever come to be? It is impossible! She would think and mutter to say.
The angel changed the world with the annunciation.
9 months from today is Christmas. And it is also my birthday! I was born December 25th too! But that is not as important of course, as the King of Kings! You know what's crazy? Some say that our Lord died exactly 33 years after His birth. And it is NOT in our calendar days, the modern calendars cannot provide the right dates, but it is around March or April it seems due to dating of how Passover was to start in Jewish days.
So here we are. Remembering the incarnation, really, the Word of God becoming Flesh in Holy Mother Mary and whom she is to carry.
This day is so very special! I don't know why we are so blind to these phenomenal Spirit realities that should amaze us to no end.
Mother Mary, Full of Grace!
Mother Mary, the Lord is WITH You!
Mother Mary, Blessed are you forever!
Hail Mother Mary, Blessed is the fruit of your WOMB JESUS!
Mother Mary, pray for us sinners both now and forever. May the Word of God be made flesh, May His will be done in me, both now and forever as well....amen. | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 23:12 "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Word of the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
