Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent (March 25, 2009)
We are exactly nine months from Christmas. It is not surprising that today the church celebrates the Annunciation of the Lord. Imagine for a second what it must have been like to be part of the scene that took place in Nazareth about 2000 years ago. Imagine that you are a butterfly (or a frog) and you are inside the room when the angel appears to Mary. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear?
I imagine that Mary was very scared. Here she is, cleaning her home and all of a sudden, she feels this gush of wind and she sees a light coming in through her window, brighter than the sun. She then sees an angel standing inside her house. She must have felt very nervous. The angel greets her with a very strange greeting “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)
The angel must have sensed her fear because he tells her: “Do not be afraid, Mary.” (Luke 1:30) Then he goes on to tell her that she will conceive and bear a son. This had to make her feel very uncomfortable. Mary was not married, she was betrothed to Joseph but she was still a virgin. How could she possibly conceive a child? She asks the angel: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” (Luke 1:34) The angel explains it to her and she answers in the most remarkable way. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Every time God has asked me to do something, my first response has always been “Let me think about it.” Not, Mary. She did not tell the angel, “Let me think about it.” Once he clarified how she was going to conceive this child, she did not stop to think of the consequences, she did not stop to think if this was going to be an inconvenience, she did not stop to think if this was going to ruin her plans… she trusted God fully and completely and her answer was plain and simple that she was ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He needed her.
What an example our blessed Mother gave us. We are always full of excuses. I don’t have time, maybe next year, once the kids graduate I will probably be able to do it but not right now, I just have too much on my plate, I’m not qualified… God would not ask us to do something if He thought we were not qualified. We need to trust that He will qualify us for whatever He needs from us. “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” I heard that quote for the first time when I was asked to lead an Emmaus retreat and my answer was “I’m not qualified.” The lady that asked me used that quote. How right she was. I have no idea how I did it, but the whole time, both during the preparation and the weekend, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and I was just floating through the whole experience. I know that I was not qualified, but I also know that God qualified me.
What has God asked of you that you keep postponing? Talk to Mary about it. Ask her to grant you the trust that she felt when she gave her YES to God.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent (March 14, 2018)
Once again, our steps are a bit out of sync because today is not March 25th like it was eight years ago. But the Annunciation is one of my favorite scenes in the Bible, so any day is a good day to meditate about this very important moment in history. A moment that changed our lives. If Mary had said “no,” our lives would have been very different. For one, Christianity would not even exist. And on a personal level, we would not have the one on one relationship that we have with God. We would probably still fear Him and see Him as a God who punishes, not a God of love. So Mary’s “YES” definitely changed our lives, and for that, we must always be grateful to her.
Thank You, Mama Mary.
We are exactly nine months from Christmas. It is not surprising that today the church celebrates the Annunciation of the Lord. Imagine for a second what it must have been like to be part of the scene that took place in Nazareth about 2000 years ago. Imagine that you are a butterfly (or a frog) and you are inside the room when the angel appears to Mary. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear?
I imagine that Mary was very scared. Here she is, cleaning her home and all of a sudden, she feels this gush of wind and she sees a light coming in through her window, brighter than the sun. She then sees an angel standing inside her house. She must have felt very nervous. The angel greets her with a very strange greeting “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)
The angel must have sensed her fear because he tells her: “Do not be afraid, Mary.” (Luke 1:30) Then he goes on to tell her that she will conceive and bear a son. This had to make her feel very uncomfortable. Mary was not married, she was betrothed to Joseph but she was still a virgin. How could she possibly conceive a child? She asks the angel: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” (Luke 1:34) The angel explains it to her and she answers in the most remarkable way. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Every time God has asked me to do something, my first response has always been “Let me think about it.” Not, Mary. She did not tell the angel, “Let me think about it.” Once he clarified how she was going to conceive this child, she did not stop to think of the consequences, she did not stop to think if this was going to be an inconvenience, she did not stop to think if this was going to ruin her plans… she trusted God fully and completely and her answer was plain and simple that she was ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He needed her.
What an example our blessed Mother gave us. We are always full of excuses. I don’t have time, maybe next year, once the kids graduate I will probably be able to do it but not right now, I just have too much on my plate, I’m not qualified… God would not ask us to do something if He thought we were not qualified. We need to trust that He will qualify us for whatever He needs from us. “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” I heard that quote for the first time when I was asked to lead an Emmaus retreat and my answer was “I’m not qualified.” The lady that asked me used that quote. How right she was. I have no idea how I did it, but the whole time, both during the preparation and the weekend, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and I was just floating through the whole experience. I know that I was not qualified, but I also know that God qualified me.
What has God asked of you that you keep postponing? Talk to Mary about it. Ask her to grant you the trust that she felt when she gave her YES to God.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent (March 14, 2018)
Once again, our steps are a bit out of sync because today is not March 25th like it was eight years ago. But the Annunciation is one of my favorite scenes in the Bible, so any day is a good day to meditate about this very important moment in history. A moment that changed our lives. If Mary had said “no,” our lives would have been very different. For one, Christianity would not even exist. And on a personal level, we would not have the one on one relationship that we have with God. We would probably still fear Him and see Him as a God who punishes, not a God of love. So Mary’s “YES” definitely changed our lives, and for that, we must always be grateful to her.
Thank You, Mama Mary.
No comments:
Post a Comment