Isaiah 7:10-14
...“Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God... “I will not
ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”...the Lord himself will give you this sign the
virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel
We need to persevere in prayer so that as we improve and
daily grow in His knowledge and ways then we can easily discern and be more
sensitive of how God speaks to each one of us in a very close and personal way.
We should always listen intently to what God is telling us so we could
effectively carry out what He wants us to do. It is God's will that we engage
in activities that will enrich and deepen our faith in Him. In order to love
someone better we have to know him/her better. The more you know about a person
the more you become close to each other. The same way with God there is a need
to really know more or everything there is to know about God. We must not be
distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset with problems and
difficulties. If we have developed a great sense of confidence and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and undauntedly do whatever He wills
for us. We've got the very best friend we can ever have in Jesus. All we have
to do is listen to and follow Him. He is the Rising Sun and Light of the world
who came to live with us to direct our feet into the path of peace. Once we've
known who God really is and what He is capable of doing in our lives then
nothing should stand in our way of doing God's will. It may not be easy but if
we have placed it in the center of our hearts then it will just come naturally
as it becomes the powerhouse or mitochondria of our beings. The transcendent
nature of humanity calls for dialogue and human understanding. In the face of
difficulty and sign of contradiction we should never lose heart. Remember these
words from the gospel, Mt. 5:10-12, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for
the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you
when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you
(falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Violence is not
overcome by violence. The world needs God. Authentic weapon for peace is
religious freedom as in to practice faith without coercion. Today we remember
the plight of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who suffer greatly
for the faith. We pray that religious freedom will not be eroded for those who
can practice it. We continue to hope in the grace of God for that alone will suffice.
It is also very important that we follow the example of Mary's perfect
obedience to God's will so that we can find delight in following God's laws.
May our Lord show us the path to peace and use us as instruments and builders
of peace. Nothing should ever stop us from doing the will of God for it is
ultimately the best option we've got. If we have developed a great sense of
confidence and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and
undauntedly do whatever He wills for us. Once we've known who God is and what
He is capable of doing in our lives then there is really nothing that should
stop us in saying with all our hearts the responsorial psalm for today. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 40:7-8, 8-9, 10, 11
R: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
6 [7] Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to
obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not; 7 [8]
then said I, “Behold I come.” (R) In the written scroll it is prescribed for
me, 8 [9] to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my
heart!” (R) 9 [10] I announced your
justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
Sometimes we are confronted with situations that make life
difficult for us but what's most important despite the hardships, discomforts,
hurts and inconveniences that we encounter is our sincere desire and intention
to please God above all and submit to His Holy will. We should always be
confident in the truth that God's will in our lives will always work out for
our own good. Everything depends on our will if and only if we could assimilate
this will to God's. In the midst of all these celebrations in line with easter
may we not forget the real reason for the season. We should look beyond the superficial
and know what's most pleasing to God is the genuine celebration of Jesus’
resurrection in our hearts as we submit to the will of God. Amen. Hallelujah!
Hebrews 10:5-10
5 Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in...Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Among all of God's creation, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the
best and most perfect work of God's hands. For through her cooperation with
God, salvation of mankind was made possible. Mary never doubted God's mercy and
goodness to carry out His plan for she trusted God more than anything else. We
should always be confident in the truth that God's will in our lives will
always work out for our own good. Whenever we feel afraid let us always follow
the example of Mary. No matter how bothering the news or instances that are
happening before us we should always maintain the same total surrender and
trusting attitude of our Blessed Mother. Just like Mary who agreed to conceive
and give birth to Jesus we should also openly and freely accept Jesus in our
lives. We should always follow after her example of a perfect handmaid of the
Lord. We are destined for the Lord just like Mary, all we have to do is follow
the example she set before us from today's gospel. The example of Mary's
complete obedience and trust in God should compel us to do likewise and believe
in the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives no matter how impossible and
difficult it may seem. During the time of Mary, she knew perfectly well the
implications of her total surrender to God in agreeing to become pregnant could
make her the object of ridicule and can lead to a very humiliating and life
threatening situation but despite all of these she consented willingly and
obediently. We, too can learn a lot from her and not miss out on the glorious
reward that the Blessed Mother is bestowed now in heaven and for all
generations to come. Mary was predestined to take on this special role to be
Mother of God. It wasn't easy for her during that time for she was still bound
by human laws which meant being stoned to death if found pregnant out of
wedlock. But she thought of accepting the will of God in her life first and
foremost by consenting to God's word like a handmaid would do to her Master and
God. We are also invited through our daily circumstances to live out the will
of God in our lives against all odds. May we also have the courage to say the
words that Mary said whenever we are confronted with situations in our life
that calls us to carry out God's will rather than our own. May we find in our
hearts doing God's will at every moment of our life and truly make it our own.
God's and our own wills as one. We all have plans in life but as the scripture
in Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the
decision of the Lord that endures.” Mary knew of this and though she may have
other plans for her life back then already betrothed to Joseph, she did not
hesitate and accepted the will of God in her life and the rest is history.
History that is forever etched in the pages of the bible, every kind of reading
material and most especially in the heart, mind and soul of every Christian.
The greatest miracle is the birth of our Lord Jesus made possible through the
obedience and cooperation of our Blessed Mother Mary. May we in our total
surrender to God's will become a vessel of the birth of our own miracles. God
coming to us in the form of man is a truth so great and awesome that no one can
fully understand all the mysteries that surround it. Even the Blessed Mother
who was favored by God and given this great privilege of giving birth to Jesus,
our Savior was troubled. Because of our probing minds we tend to question a lot
of things and resort to various ways in order to get a better view and
understanding of things but there are times, too when all we have to do is
follow the example of Mama Mary's perfect obedience to the will of God. There
is only one thing we need to know, meditate and internalize daily, that God
loves us this much, He suffered His only Son to become man and die on the cross
for us. From this standpoint I am sure that all other things will follow. There
are famous stories that are very wonderful to tell that it continue to be
spoken of throughout the length of time. It has been passed on from generation
to generation and never lose the awe, wonder and mystery it holds for those who
come to know it. There are some that never leave our memory and continue to
inspire and give us hope. It serves as a driving force that keeps us going and
lifts us up when we are down and out. These stories are a source of strength
and courage at times when we feel like giving up. The story of how God came to
save us. This is one story that we should take personally. It should never
leave our hearts, minds and memories every waking moment of our lives. It is
the greatest story, living and true, ever told. On the day that the angel
appeared to Mary she may have already been praying for a Savior to come. We all
have been praying to God for something. Let us not doubt that God answers all
our prayers in the best way possible. We should not waver or falter and have
faith in God who knows our past, present and future. He can make all things
beautiful in His perfect time that is for sure. There is no question to this,
God is moving in power. Everything lies in the hands of God but it is in our
hands to respond in the way Mary did and say this to God with all humility and
trust, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according
to your word.” St. Anselm brilliantly captures the crucial role of Mary in our
salvation history. He said, “God... is the Father of the created world and Mary
the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were
given life, and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life.
For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth
to him as the Savior of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist;
without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed.” This is an incredible thing. It
was only possible because God became man. There is an interplay between God’s
grace and Mary’s free acceptance. This is what the real Catholic life is all
about. This is God’s desire for us which
is a fantastic calling. The power to do this is given to us by God in Jesus
through Mary. Let us no longer be tricked into believing otherwise and know
that just like Mary we are also called to play our part in the history of
salvation the way she did. The wonderful phrase from the lips of the angel is
pregnant with meaning as He announces to Mary she is full of grace. When
something is full there is no room for anything else just like a glass there’s
a limit to what it can hold. When the angel announced the words in the present
tense by saying you are full of grace. She has no room for sin and is where the
Church got its dogma that Mary is conceived without sin. The angel could have
said, hail who will be full of grace. She is already filled with the grace of
God, special grace from God and for God so He can do His work. God made Mary
the untainted human nature and spotless. There's this painting of the
Annunciation where the angel is hovering over Mary with a ray coming from his
mouth to Mary’s ear. Though, this is not a literal depiction of the Incarnation
but a metaphor. The angel spoke the Word of God because the angel can only
speak the word of God and this painting is a beautiful depiction of what
happened in the annunciation. Jesus conceived in her womb without the assistance
of husband or father but with the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary hearing the
Word and accepts the Word became flesh. We also hear the Word and must accept
that the bread and wine in Holy Mass is transformed in the Body & Blood in
the Eucharist. We celebrate this when we pray the Hail Mary which is recorded
by St. Luke spoken by the angel and also taken out from the words of St.
Elizabeth inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is a prayer that we should say
often each day. Mary is a part of what she heard, accepted and said yes. Eve
was also created holy and in innocence. Eve and Mary are two innocent women
created by God. Lucifer tempted and spoke a lie to Eve. The devil starts off by
telling a lie while Mary is greeted by an angelic being speaking the truth. Eve
gives in to the devil's allurement. At first Eve spoke the truth when the devil
said in Gen 3:1-3, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the
trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of
the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in
the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it,
lest you die.'" but Eve was allured and gave in. Mary on the other hand
when greeted by the angel, instead of propping herself up like God she said I
am the handmaid of the Lord and said yes and her womb became God’s dwelling
place. Eve is the mother of the living while Mary is our spiritual mother. In
the beginning humanity fell flat on his face when Adam & Eve sinned so we
needed a Redeemer. We should remember these words in Gen 3:14, "Then the
LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be
banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly
shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. These are
the words we should say to the devil every time we are tempted. Following that,
is Gen 3:15, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his
heel." We know that the woman
spoken of is Mary, the New Eve, Mary crushes the serpent’s head by her Son and
defeat the devil once and for all. Lucifer’s no to God made him lose heaven.
God breaks into human history and becomes one of us, wanting to be like us, as
true God and true Man, filled with divinity and humanity. This is a glorious
day as we celebrate the Annunciation and every time we pray the Hail Mary. We
should say it with love and not embarrassed. When we speak of something important
we say it with intention, deliberation and reverence. We ought to keep this in
mind that the Hail Mary is the inspired word of God. It is a beautiful prayer
and a sign of God’s love for us. It is God's poem to us to get us to
participate in the plan of salvation and to motivate us to say yes. If we say
no to God then we’re in trouble but if we say yes then we are saved. There’ll
be suffering, even Mary who is without sin suffered the 7 sorrows. When Jesus
is just a baby she was told of the sword that will pierce her heart. The sword
pierced her heart when Jesus was missing for 3 days but the most intense was
when He died on the cross. She had to go through sorrow and she is without sin.
Do we think we are to get away scar free? How we get there is not as important
what matters most is that we get there. It is God's divine will that He chose
Mary to be part of the equation. Her immaculate heart keeps the heart of Jesus
alive while He was in the womb. He loves us and He loves her so we say yes to
Mary and be a handmaid of the Lord. She will definitely help us get to where
Jesus is. We will never regret it for we are a people of the Word like Mary is.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth
No comments:
Post a Comment