Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38
December  20, 2025 | Saturday

Today’s Gospel

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God, to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said,“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Mary was troubled at these words,

wondering what this greeting could mean.

But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son; and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob forever; and his reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative, Elizabeth, is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

Today’s Reflection

The mission of Mary—as announced by the angel Gabriel in the Gospel passage— might be called giving birth to God in the world. This mission is fascinating on the one hand but so challenging on the other that it requires no less than an ever-joyful person to fulfill it. One can only become ever joyful once they receive God’s blessing.

Mary is the recipient of God’s gracious blessing. Profoundly aware of her unworthiness, Mary opts to be more receptive to God’s word, which immediately makes her profoundly joyful. Her joy enables her to transcend her fears and apprehensions regarding God’s unprecedented and humanly impossible mission for her. Despite some anxieties and uncertainties that she may still have, she declares her fiat or readiness to do the will of the Lord (Lk 1:38). Although the incarnation is a one-time event in the history of salvation, we can always “give birth to God” in our daily lives by being happy and joyful in our ministries or missions. Life in the mission is not always consoling. Some missionaries endure hardships, from culture shock to rejection, persecution, and even death. But once they are joyful, missionaries can bear almost all challenges because, like Mary, they shall be motivated by the profound awareness of their unworthiness to the grace of God, who in turn shall always console them until the

end of the age (Mt 28:19).

/Vulnerasti, 2025