Gospel
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,
Lk 1:26-38
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
Have you ever wondered how you would react if an angel suddenly appeared to you and said that God has a special assignment for you? It could happen to any one of us. Chances are that we would be afraid as Mary was. But we have the advantage of the New Testament which tells us of God’s working in our lives through His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Mary didn’t know what the future would hold for her. But we know what the future holds for us if we believe in Jesus and walk in His footsteps with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Action
Tomorrow we will again celebrate the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Gabriel tells Mary that nothing is impossible for God. How true that is! God loves us so much that He became a man to save us from our sins and to open the gates of heaven to us. Whether or not an angel will ever appear to us is for God to decide. But we must decide how to respond to our calling to follow Jesus. Hopefully we will say yes as Mary did and continue to make Jesus present in how we treat others. There is a song called “The Secret of Christmas.” And the secret is: not the things we do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things we do all year through.
Fr. Anthony Testa
Pastor – Our Lady of Guadalupe
Long Branch, NJ
Advent Retreat 