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Message of the Day
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We approach Scripture with minds already formed by the mass of accepted opinions and viewpoints with which we have come into contact, in both the Church and the world….It is easy to be unaware that it has happened; it is hard even to begin to realize how profoundly tradition in this sense has moulded us.
-J. I.
Packer (Pray the grace to be open to hearing God’s word anew.)
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Readings of the Day
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Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab,
5-6 Lk 1:26-38
In the sixth month,
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,
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. USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” —Luke 1:35
Mary is a model disciple. She is worthy of being imitated.
- As the maidservant of the Lord (Lk 1:38), Mary did God’s will, no matter what it entailed.
- She welcomed the Holy Spirit when the Spirit overshadowed her (Lk 1:35). Accordingly, she ministered with the Spirit’s power and gifts during her
visit to Sts. Zechariah and Elizabeth. After three months in Mary’s school, Zechariah’s mouth was opened to speak a prophecy that the Church repeats daily in the Liturgy of the Hours (Lk 1:68-79).
- Mary gave her body to the Lord (Lk 1:38). So many people these days will not let the Lord have their body. Often in today’s me-first culture, we hear: “It’s my body, and my choice of what I do with
it.”
- Mary regarded her body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20) and lived a holy lifestyle.
- She was pure and holy. Her Child was “holy” (Lk 1:35). We disciples of Jesus are to likewise be pure (1 Jn 3:3) and holy (1 Pt 1:16).
- Mary was
a prophetess. She prophesied her Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), which the Church likewise prays daily in the Liturgy of the Hours.
As Christmas approaches, enroll in Mary’s school of discipleship. Learn a lesson from the model disciple. Prayer: Jesus, may I follow You as did Mary. Promise: “The virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and shall name Him Immanuel.” —Is 7:14 Praise: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at Your will the gate of heaven: come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead Your captive people into
freedom.” Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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-Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Two, Encountering the Risen Christ Chapter 7: The Cosmic Christ, part
II - Selected quotes A most beautiful type of cosmic consciousness comes through yet another channel, that of awareness. Where cosmic love works through the will and feels compassion for the whole universe, and cosmic wisdom works through the mind to enable comprehension of the ways
of God, cosmic awareness seems to be a special kind of “seeing” or perceiving through the senses. By “seeing,” here, I am referring not to the eyes or even the senses, but to the subject-of-perception, the “I” or “self” that observes, thinks, and chooses. In cosmic awareness, it is as though our small human self becomes the means through which a larger Self or “I” looks out at the world. Our little self becomes transparent to Christ’s Self, but is still able to note what is
happening. What is seen is the very same creation beheld before, but in a different way. It is no longer a matter of a subjective human self looking out of sensory eyes at, say, a bird (which is the object of consciousness); subject-object dualism breaks down, enabling a deep and mysterious sense of oneness between the See-er and the seen. The bird still exists as an independent entity, but it seems to be part of one’s own body: when it flies, it is as though it flies within
you, and when it sings, it sings in your own heart. Biologists and physicists have pointed out our interconnectedness with all of creation, but what I am describing goes deeper. It is as though Christ himself is the one looking out at creation, with one’s senses serving as openings through which he can observe the world through the limited vantage point of one’s individual body. The small human self knows that it is still there, but is able to “tune in,” as it were, to Christ’s
seeing and to be transformed in the process. This kind of Christian enlightenment or cosmic consciousness isn’t often described, but I am convinced, again, from my own experiences and in journeying with others in spiritual direction that such times of presence and clarity are given to many.
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