Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Lectionary: 690A
Lectionary: 690A
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people,
and he will dwell among you,
and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,
and he will again choose Jerusalem.
Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD!
For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people,
and he will dwell among you,
and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,
and he will again choose Jerusalem.
Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD!
For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.
God's temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed."
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed."
Responsorial
PsalmJUDITH 13:18BCDE, 19
R.(15:9d) You are
the highest honor of our race.
Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,
above all the women on earth;
and blessed be the LORD God,
the creator of heaven and earth.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
by those who tell of the might of God.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,
above all the women on earth;
and blessed be the LORD God,
the creator of heaven and earth.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
by those who tell of the might of God.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 1:26-38
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.
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.
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
A PRAYER TO OUR LADY
OF GUADALUPE
OF GUADALUPE
Our Lady of Guadalupe, mystical rose, make intercession for the
Holy Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke thee in
their necessities, and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of God,
obtain for us from thy most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, sweet hope
in the midst of the bitterness of life, burning charity and the precious gift
of final perseverance. Amen.
The prayer to our Lady of Guadalupe printed above, in referring
to her as the “mystical rose” touches on an extraordinary event. The Blessed
Virgin Mary appeared to an Aztec Indian convert to Catholicism named Juan Diego
on Tepayac Hill, near Mexico City on December 9, 1531.
She asked him to tell the local bishop that she would like a
church to be built there in her honor. When the bishop, Juan de Zummaraga, a
devout Franciscan, asked Juan Diego for a sign proving the authenticity of her
request, Mary helped out in two very special ways!
First, she instructed Juan Diego to gather fresh Castilian roses
not normally found in the rocky barren landscape of Tepayac Hill (and certainly
not in the beginning of winter!) Then she had him carry them to the bishop in
his tilma, (his cloak), instructing him not to open his cloak until
he saw Zumarraga.
The bishop, a devout Franciscan was so moved when he saw Juan
Diego this time, on December 12th, that he fell to his knees and granted our
Lady’s request!
Not only was he amazed at the roses falling out of Juan
Diego’s tilma. Even more incredible was the image he saw of Mary as
our Lady of Guadalupe, imprinted on his cloak as shown above, with the
appearance of a Mestiza woman (of both European and Native
American descent), just as Juan Diego had described her!
Mary also miraculously cured Juan Diego’s uncle, Juan Bernardino
from a serious illness that same day, telling him that the image on his
nephew’s tilma pictured above should be known as “The Ever
Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe.”
(Some analysts believe that by using the word “Guadalupe” Mary
was actually referring to herself as the “one who crushes the serpent”, Satan,
using a descriptive term in the Aztec Nahuatl language that sounds like
“Guadalupe” in Spanish.)
The bishop put Juan Diego’s tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in his chapel until it was transferred to the shrine when it was built soon afterwards. The picture became the focus of much veneration and was responsible for the conversion of literally millions of Aztec Indians, among others, to Catholicism.
The bishop put Juan Diego’s tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in his chapel until it was transferred to the shrine when it was built soon afterwards. The picture became the focus of much veneration and was responsible for the conversion of literally millions of Aztec Indians, among others, to Catholicism.
Our Blessed Mother helped turn them away from worshiping false
Gods and making countless human sacrifices. In so doing she united numerous
diverse Native American cultures in worship of the one true God who sacrificed Himself for all
of us at Calvary!
As one 19th century Mexican preacher noted, thanks to Our Lady
of Guadalupe “the Catholic Faith spread with the rapidity of light from the
rising sun” throughout Mexico.
Our Lady, in appearing as a Mestiza to Juan
Diego, endeared herself to millions of Native Americans and others throughout
Mexico as La Morenita (“The Little Brown One”) and was key in
spreading our faith.
The picture above from the tilma is still
displayed in countless churches, and other shrines, but also in taxicabs,
murals and in people’s homes as well!
It is another tribute to the power of Our Lady of Guadalupe that
the Basilica dedicated to her is today one of the most visited Roman Catholic
shrines in the world, second only to the Basilica of Saint Peter in the
Vatican.
The Church recognized the authenticity of this apparition, and Pope
Benedict XIV declared Our Lady of Guadalupe to be patron of what was then
called New Spain, corresponding to Spanish Central and Northern America, in
1754. Pope St. Pius X made her patron of Latin America in 1910, while Pope Pius
XII extended her patronage to the all of the Americas in 1946.
In 1988 Pope John Paul II made December 12th a feast day for all
dioceses in the United States and in 1999 made it a Liturgical Holy day
throughout the Americas. He later canonized Juan Diego (in 2002), making him the
first Native American saint.
Interestingly enough, the tilma has turned out
to be as strong as the faith our Lady has inspired! Normally such a cloak, made
of coarse cactus fibers, would deteriorate within about 20 years, but this tilma,
now preserved and displayed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico
City, is still in remarkably good condition over 475 years later!
Not only that, after much examination, it has been determined
that the image was not painted, sewn, printed or transmitted onto the cloth in
any other man-made manner. And what’s more, specialists at the Kodak
Corporation have compared the smoothness of the image to that of a color
photograph.
(This becomes even more remarkable when we take into account
this image was produced more than 300 years before photography was even
invented!)
Let us keep in mind what Our Lady told Juan Diego to calm his
anxiety over his uncle’s illness, mentioned earlier: “Do not fear this nor any
other sickness or anguish. Am I, your Mother, not here? Are you not under my
protection?”
In a similar manner, Pope Pius XII once said of her “we are
certain that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and
America will be safe.” Indeed, let us venerate Our Lady of Guadalupe in this
prayer, along with others found in this excellent website and approach her with that kind
of love and faith!
EAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, LUKE 1:26-38 or LUKE 1:39-47
(Zechariah 2:14-17 or Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab; Psalm: Luke 1)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, LUKE 1:26-38 or LUKE 1:39-47
(Zechariah 2:14-17 or Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab; Psalm: Luke 1)
KEY VERSE: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God" (v. 30).
TO KNOW: Gabriel, the angelic messenger of God, was sent to the insignificant village of Nazareth to proclaim the most glorious event the world had ever known. Mary (Hebrew, Miryam, "the exalted one"), was told that she would bear the "Son of the Most High" (v. 32) who would inherit the eternal reign promised to King David (2 Sm 7:16). The child was to be named Jesus (Hebrew, Yeshua), a name that implied his mission: "Yahweh saves." Mary was given a sign to prove that "nothing was impossible with God" (v. 37). Her kinswoman Elizabeth had conceived a son in her old age. In Mary’s Magnifcat, she praised God's mercy and her faith in God's promise. She was God's handmaid, accepting whatever God desired of her. However, the angel did not tell Mary that her son would suffer and die. Luke says, “Then the angel departed from her” (Lk 1:38c). Mary would have to live in faith, doing God’s will as her son would do, which eventually carried them to the cross.
TO LOVE: Can I say with Mary, "Be it done unto me according to your will"?
TO SERVE: Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray that my heart will be open to God's plan for my life.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
The Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to Juan Diego, a 55 year old peasant,on December 9, 1531. Mary, who said she was the mother of God, sent him to Bishop Zumárraga asking that a chapel be built where she stood. The bishop did not immediately believe the messenger, and he finally told him to ask the lady for a sign. Mary told Juan to gather roses. Although he knew it was neither the time nor the place for roses, Juan Diego readily agreed. Placing the flowers in his tilma, a long cloak worn by Mexican Indians, he went to the Bishop. As he unfolded his cloak the roses fell to the ground. Juan was startled to see the bishop and his attendants kneeling before him. The life-size figure of the Virgin Mother, just as Juan had described her, was glowing on the tilma. Pope Benedict XIV decreed that Our Lady of Guadalupe should be the national patron of Mexico, and made 12 December her feast. Pope John Paul II later named her the Patron of all the Americas.
The Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to Juan Diego, a 55 year old peasant,on December 9, 1531. Mary, who said she was the mother of God, sent him to Bishop Zumárraga asking that a chapel be built where she stood. The bishop did not immediately believe the messenger, and he finally told him to ask the lady for a sign. Mary told Juan to gather roses. Although he knew it was neither the time nor the place for roses, Juan Diego readily agreed. Placing the flowers in his tilma, a long cloak worn by Mexican Indians, he went to the Bishop. As he unfolded his cloak the roses fell to the ground. Juan was startled to see the bishop and his attendants kneeling before him. The life-size figure of the Virgin Mother, just as Juan had described her, was glowing on the tilma. Pope Benedict XIV decreed that Our Lady of Guadalupe should be the national patron of Mexico, and made 12 December her feast. Pope John Paul II later named her the Patron of all the Americas.
Thursday 12 December 2019
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Isaiah 41:13-20. Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a. Matthew 11:11-15.
The Lord is kind and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness – Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a
The imminence of the coming of God’s kingdom.
Isaiah 41:13-20. Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a. Matthew 11:11-15.
The Lord is kind and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness – Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a
The imminence of the coming of God’s kingdom.
Today’s Gospel carries a sense of the imminence of the coming of
God’s kingdom. Jesus’ words about the kingdom of heaven suffering violence
since the time of John the Baptist can seem strange at first; however, as Jesus
compels us, we need to listen, and do so attentively to learn that this
allegory has more than one layer of meaning. We find two competing forms of
violence. In one sense, the violence of those resisting the kingdom of God
takes force literally; John the Baptist himself met a bloody and violent and
bloody end. On the other hand, the kingdom of God is also establishing itself
violently, but this is not a literal or bloody violence. This is a violent
eagerness and zeal for the kingdom. People were desperate for the coming of
Jesus, seeking out the kingdom at all costs. Today too, this desire for God
among us still manifests in unexpected ways.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Saint of the Day for December 12
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| The Virgin of Guadalupe | public domain |
The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the
16th century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.
A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the
name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower, and lived in a small village
near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a
nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.
Juan was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard
beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared, and
within it stood an Indian maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke
to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan
named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where
the lady appeared.
Eventually the bishop told Juan to have the lady give him a
sign. About this same time Juan’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor
Juan to try to avoid the lady. Nevertheless the lady found Juan, assured him
that his uncle would recover, and provided roses for Juan to carry to the
bishop in his cape or tilma.
On December 12, when Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s
presence, the roses fell to the ground, and the bishop sank to his knees. On
the tilma where the roses had been appeared an image of Mary exactly as she had
appeared at the hill of Tepeyac.
Reflection
Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a
powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent her—accept all peoples. In the
context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the
Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast
significance for the indigenous population. While a number of them had
converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a
contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short
time. In these days when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for
the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and
identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel
itself.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of:
The Americas
Mexico
Mexico
Lectio Divina: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Lk1:26-38)
Lectio Divina
Thursday, December 12, 2019
1) Opening prayer
God of the poor and the humble,
we thank You today for choosing Mary
as the Virgin Mother of Jesus, your Son.
Her faith and willing service
opened the way to Your new world.
we thank You today for choosing Mary
as the Virgin Mother of Jesus, your Son.
Her faith and willing service
opened the way to Your new world.
Dispose us to seek Your will
and to cooperate with Your plans,
that we too, like Mary,
may give to the world its Savior,
Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.
and to cooperate with Your plans,
that we too, like Mary,
may give to the world its Savior,
Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading – Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town
in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the
House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
He went in and said to her, “Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favor! The Lord is with you.” She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David; He will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and His reign will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.”
Mary said, “You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
He went in and said to her, “Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favor! The Lord is with you.” She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David; He will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and His reign will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.”
Mary said, “You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
3) Reflection
• The visit of the Angel to Mary reminds us of the visit of God
to different women of the Old Testament: Sarah, mother of Isaac (Gen 18: 9-15),
Anne, mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1: 9-18), the mother of Samson (Jg 13: 2-5). To
all of them was announced the birth of a son with an important mission in the
realization of God’s plan.
• The account begins with the expression “in the sixth month”. It is the sixth month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth. The need of Elizabeth, a woman advanced in age who is expecting her first son with the risk of delivery, is the background of this episode. Elizabeth is mentioned at the beginning (Lk 1: 26) and at the end of the visit of the angel (Lk 1: 36-39).
• The angel says: “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor, the Lord is with you”!. Similar words were also said to Moses (Ex 3: 12), to Jeremiah (Jer 1: 8), to Gideon (Jg 6: 12) and to other people with an important mission in God’s plan. Mary is surprised at the greeting and tries to understand the significance of these words. She is realistic and wants to understand. She does not accept just any invitation.
• The angel answers: “Do not be afraid!” Just as it happened in the visit of the angel to Zechariah, the first greeting of God is always: “Do not be afraid!”. The angel recalls the promises of the past which will be fulfilled thanks to the son who will be born and who is to receive the name of Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High and in Him will be realized the Kingdom of God. This is the explanation of the angel in such a way that Mary is not afraid.
• Mary is aware of the mission which she is about to receive, but she continues to be realistic. She does not allow herself to be drawn by the greatness of the offer, and observes her condition. She analyses the offer according to certain criteria which she has available. Humanly speaking, it was not possible: “But how can this come about, I have no knowledge of man?”
• The angel explains that the Holy Spirit, present in God’s Word since the creation (Genesis 1: 2), is capable of things which seem impossible. This is why, the Holy One who will be born of Mary will be called Son of God. The miracle repeats itself up until today. When the Word of God is accepted by the poor, something new happens, thanks to the will of the Holy Spirit! Something new and surprising, such as a son born of a virgin or a son born to a woman of advanced age, like Elizabeth, whom everyone said was barren and could not have children! And the angel adds: “See, your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God”.
• The response of the angel clarifies everything for Mary, and she surrenders: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word”. Mary uses for herself the title of Servant, Handmaid of the Lord. This title of Isaiah, which represents the mission of the people not as a privilege, but rather as a service to the other people (Is 42:1-9, 49:3-6). Later Jesus will define his mission as a service: “I have not come to be served, but to serve!” (Mt 20:28). He learned this from His mother!
• The account begins with the expression “in the sixth month”. It is the sixth month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth. The need of Elizabeth, a woman advanced in age who is expecting her first son with the risk of delivery, is the background of this episode. Elizabeth is mentioned at the beginning (Lk 1: 26) and at the end of the visit of the angel (Lk 1: 36-39).
• The angel says: “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor, the Lord is with you”!. Similar words were also said to Moses (Ex 3: 12), to Jeremiah (Jer 1: 8), to Gideon (Jg 6: 12) and to other people with an important mission in God’s plan. Mary is surprised at the greeting and tries to understand the significance of these words. She is realistic and wants to understand. She does not accept just any invitation.
• The angel answers: “Do not be afraid!” Just as it happened in the visit of the angel to Zechariah, the first greeting of God is always: “Do not be afraid!”. The angel recalls the promises of the past which will be fulfilled thanks to the son who will be born and who is to receive the name of Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High and in Him will be realized the Kingdom of God. This is the explanation of the angel in such a way that Mary is not afraid.
• Mary is aware of the mission which she is about to receive, but she continues to be realistic. She does not allow herself to be drawn by the greatness of the offer, and observes her condition. She analyses the offer according to certain criteria which she has available. Humanly speaking, it was not possible: “But how can this come about, I have no knowledge of man?”
• The angel explains that the Holy Spirit, present in God’s Word since the creation (Genesis 1: 2), is capable of things which seem impossible. This is why, the Holy One who will be born of Mary will be called Son of God. The miracle repeats itself up until today. When the Word of God is accepted by the poor, something new happens, thanks to the will of the Holy Spirit! Something new and surprising, such as a son born of a virgin or a son born to a woman of advanced age, like Elizabeth, whom everyone said was barren and could not have children! And the angel adds: “See, your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God”.
• The response of the angel clarifies everything for Mary, and she surrenders: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word”. Mary uses for herself the title of Servant, Handmaid of the Lord. This title of Isaiah, which represents the mission of the people not as a privilege, but rather as a service to the other people (Is 42:1-9, 49:3-6). Later Jesus will define his mission as a service: “I have not come to be served, but to serve!” (Mt 20:28). He learned this from His mother!
4) Personal questions
• What struck you the most in the visit of the Angel Gabriel to
Mary?
• Jesus praises his mother when He says: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). How does Mary relate to the Word of God during the visit of the Angel?
• Jesus praises his mother when He says: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). How does Mary relate to the Word of God during the visit of the Angel?
5) Concluding Prayer
To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live there;
it is He who laid its foundations on the seas,
on the flowing waters fixed it firm. (Ps 24:1-2)
the world and all who live there;
it is He who laid its foundations on the seas,
on the flowing waters fixed it firm. (Ps 24:1-2)
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