Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38
December 8, 2022 | Thursday

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 young 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 if 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 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 Blessed Virgin Mary’s openness to and active cooperation with God’s plan of salvation through her famous “fiat” radically changed the world. Her abiding faith, indeed, has renewed the entire universe and changed the course of human history! Without her, we might not have known God personally; we might not have heard of his Word; we might not have been given access to the fullness of his promises, and so forth. Without Mary’s faith, perhaps, we would not even enjoy the gift of today. Now that the path of salvation has been wide opened to us, Mary’s “fiat” continues to renew us and to invite us to cooperate with God, inspiring us to say: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (v. 38). To do this, we must possess the same faith, openness, and humility of Mary. /Vulnerasti, 2022