Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 196
Reading 1
Isaiah 7:10-14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz:
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 men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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 Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Running to the Will of God
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.” Luke 1:35
Try to set aside all that you know about Jesus and simply ponder these words of the Archangel Gabriel as if you were to hear them as our Blessed Mother did for the very first time. She was told she would have a child, even though she had not had relations with a man. She was told that this pregnancy would happen by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. And she was told that her Child would be the Son of God. What was Mary to think about these amazing revelations given to her by this most glorious archangel?
The ordinary person would most likely conclude that this was some sort of hallucination and that what they were seeing and hearing was the result of some temporary psychological disorder. Perhaps she was dreaming? Or perhaps it was something she unknowingly ingested that has led to this experience?
But our Blessed Mother was no ordinary person, and she had no ordinary mind. Her mind was perfectly sharp on account of her immaculate nature. And her mind was continually “full of grace,” as Gabriel said in his greeting to her. She knew God’s voice, and she knew that this archangel was speaking to her a message from on high. As a result, she listened, accepted, believed and consented.
We can also conclude that Mary did even more than merely consent. The love she had for God and His will would have been so strong that she would have been filled with an immediate and burning desire to fulfill this command of the archangel. She would have been filled with a holy desire to do all she could to bring about this miraculous calling she had received. And this calling would have immediately become the central purpose of her life.
Though none of us has been given the unique and glorious vocation that was given to our Blessed Mother, we are all most certainly given a mission by God. Sometimes we listen and consider it. Sometimes we choose to embrace it. But the ideal is that we imitate our Blessed Mother and run to it. We must not only be open. We must not only submit. We must also allow every desire within our soul, every passion we have and every longing within us to work toward the accomplishment of God’s will.
What is it that God is calling you to do in life? What is your purpose? What is your mission? If you struggle in answering these questions, then perhaps start by praying for the deep and all-consuming holy desire to accomplish that which God has chosen for you. If all you desire is the fulfillment of the will of God, then when God reveals His will to you, you will more easily and more quickly be able to accomplish it.
Reflect, today, upon the unique mission that God has given to you. Whatever He has called you to do with your life is a calling given only to you. Do not run from it. Do not reluctantly accept it. Instead, run to it with your whole being and allow God to do great things through you.
Reflection 2
By Fr. Thomas Hoisington
“May it be done to me according to your word.”
Today’s Gospel Reading focuses our attention upon the First Joyful Mystery of the traditional Dominican Rosary (as opposed to the six-decade Carmelite Rosary, whose first Joyful Mystery is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The mystery of the Annunciation focuses upon the moment of the Divine Word becoming Flesh within the womb of Our Lady. This moment, among other ways in which we might reflect upon it, symbolizes the way that each Christian disciple needs to accept Jesus into his or her own life.
Jesus is the divine Gift that God the Father gifts fallen mankind with. We can prepare for Christmastide by pondering both the graciousness of this divine Father, and the bountiful goodness of this Gift who is the divine Son. Yet another way to ponder the Mystery of the Annunciation is to reflect upon the manner in which Mary receives the divine Gift of Jesus.
Mary is the first and best disciple of Jesus. She not only intercedes for each of us. She is also a model for us, which means that each time we find her mentioned in the New Testament, we ought to consider how we can imitate her virtues as the first and best disciple.
At the scene of the Annunciation, Mary exemplifies many virtues, but perhaps no virtue more than that of humility. It’s not a coincidence that the words “humble” and “humility” derive from the Latin word “humus”, meaning “ground” or “earth”. Mary is grounded, or down-to-earth, because of her humility. She knows what she is about, and never tries to be someone she is not. This humility does not prevent her, however, from being surprised by God’s message that she is destined to be the Mother of the Messiah. Nonetheless, without any assurances about what this vocation will demand of her, she assents to God’s will: “May it be done unto me according to your [divine] word.”
Reflection 3
By Fr. Jordi PASCUAL i Bancells
(Salt, Girona, Spain)
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Today, once more, we contemplate the impressive scene of the Annunciation. God, always true to His promises, lets Mary know through the Angel Gabriel that she is the one chosen to bear the Savior of the world. As we learn to expect from the Lord, the most important event in the history of mankind —the Creator and Lord of all things becoming man, just like us— takes place in a very simple way: a young woman in a small village in Galilee. No fireworks.
The way of going about it is simple; the event is as magnificent as are the virtues of the Virgin Mary: filled with grace, the Lord is with her, who is ever humble, simple, available for God's will, and generous. God has plans for her, as He has for you and for me, but He relies on our free and loving cooperation to carry them out. Mary is our example: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). It is not only a “yes” to the message of the Angel; it is putting herself in the hands of God the Father, abandoning herself to His intimate providence, and to letting God work through her now and in all the circumstances of her life.
Of Mary's answer to God's will, as of ours, Saint JosemarÃa Escriva writes, “Many great things depend — don't forget it — on whether you and I live our lives as God wants.”
We are preparing to celebrate Christmas. The best way to do so is to be with Mary, contemplating her life and trying to imitate her virtues in order to receive the Lord with the right heart: What does God expect from me, now, today, at work, in my relationships with others, and in my relationship with God? Many great things depend on our response to the little things of every day!
Prayers
Most holy Lord, I know that You have a perfect plan for my life. I know that You have given me a mission that has not been given to anyone else. Please flood my soul with a holy desire to fully accomplish Your will and to do so with the most fervent commitment and strength. I, too, am a servant of You, O Lord; may it be done to me according to Your will. Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord, sin binds us and causes much distress in life. Give me the grace of a merciful heart so that I can be an instrument of freedom to those caught in a life of sin. Give me the grace, dear Lord, to love them with Your perfect Heart of Mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
Heavenly Father, you offer us abundant grace, mercy, and forgiveness through your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to live a grace-filled life as Mary did by believing in your promises and by giving you my unqualified 'yes' to your will and plan for my life.
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