Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Lk 1: 26-38
December 20, 2023 | Wednesday
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 hand maid of the Lord, let it be done to meas you have said.” And the angel left her.
Today’s Reflection:.
“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God, to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. Today’s gospel is about the Annunciation. This event is so significant that we commemorate it three times a day through the famous Angelus prayer. Maybe this is to remind us round-the-clock of the great mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. The love of God for humanity is such that He became one of us! This reality is what we will celebrate on Christmas day. This is the uniqueness and novelty of Christianity: God became man. Many civil leaders and totalitarian dictators wanted to be gods. But Christianity shows us the exact opposite: for the love of us, God became man. Saint Augustine reminded us about this in his Sermon 185: “…for your sake Christ has become man. If he had not been born in time, you would have been dead for all eternity.” / Vulnerasti, 2023
