"Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

"Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

Gospel Reading: Luke 1:26-38 - In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" 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 child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14 - Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el."
  

Meditation: How does God reveal his favor to us? In the psalms we pray, "Lord, show me a sign of your favor" (Psalm 86:17). In the Old Testament God performed many signs and miracles to demonstrate his love and mercy for his people, such as their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and the miraculous crossing of the Red sea on dry land (Psalm 78:43-53). When Ahaz, king of Judah and heir to the throne of David (735 B.C.) was surrounded by forces that threatened to destroy him and his people, God offered him a sign to reassure him that God would not abandon the promise he made to David and his descendants. King Ahaz, however, had lost hope in God and refused to ask for a sign of favor. God, nonetheless, gave a sign to assure his people that he would indeed give them a Savior who would rule with peace and righteousness (Isaiah 7:11ff).

We see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and the unfolding of God's plan of redemption in the events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah King. The new era of salvation begins with the miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. This child to be born is conceived by the gracious action of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, who finds favor with God (Luke 1:28). As Eve was the mother of all humanity doomed to sin, now Mary becomes the mother of the new Adam who will father a new humanity by his grace (Romans 5:12-21). This child to be conceived in her womb is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. He will be “great” and “Son of the Most High” and “King” and his name shall be called “Jesus” (Luke 1:31-32), which means “the Lord saves.” “He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The angel repeats to Mary, the daughter of the house of David, the promise made to King David: "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end" (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:32-33).

How does Mary respond to the word of God delivered by the angel Gabriel? She knows she is hearing something beyond human capability. It will surely take a miracle which surpasses all that God has done previously. Her question, “how shall this be, since I have no husband” is not prompted by doubt or skepticism, but by wonderment! She is a true hearer of the Word and she immediately responds with faith and trust. Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all believers. Mary believed God's promises even when they seemed impossible. She was full of grace because she trusted that what God said was true and would be fulfilled. She was willing and eager to do God's will, even if it seemed difficult or costly. Mary is the “mother of God” because God becomes incarnate when he takes on flesh in her womb.  When we pray the Nicene Creed we state our confession of faith in this great mystery: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man”. God gives us grace and he expects us to respond with the same willingness, obedience, and heartfelt trust as Mary did. When God commands he also gives the help, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to his grace or resist and go our own way.

 

Reflection question: Do you believe in God's promises and do you yield to his grace?

Prayer: "Heavenly Father, you offer us abundant grace, mercy, and forgiveness through your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to live a grace-filled life as Mary did by believing in your promises and by giving you my unqualified 'yes' to your will and plan for my life." Amen.

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Many thanks:  many thanks to all those who came out to help exit TAU House, lots of great memories, the two days filled with sadness, smiles and tears all rolled up one!

Peace and all good,

Father Mike and Brother Ed

Message from the Custos of the Holy Land

Message from the Custos of the Holy  Land
December 18,  2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
the Lord give  you peace!

As we approach the Solemnity of Christmas,  together with the Prophet we
hear in these days of Advent and how the readings  of the Sunday “Gaudete”
reaffirm today, I would come to you with joyful  news.

Unfortunately and once again I have to bring  to your attention the
increasingly difficult situation of our last two Christian  villages in the Orontes
of Syria, of our parishioners and of our brethren who  assist them.

The northern Syria is now more and more firmly  in the hands of extremist
rebels, while the so-called “moderate” forces are  losing strength.  The
rebels who controlled “our” area, which until now  were considered tolerant,
have been replaced by extremist groups who do not like  the presence of
non-Muslims in their “emirate”.

The last orders received from our brothers,  Father Hanna and Father Dhiya,
are as follows:

 -  All the crosses must  disappear.
-  Is forbidden to ring the Church  bells.
-  Women should not get out of the house without covering  their face and
the hair...
-  All the statues must disappear  ...

In case of refusing to abide to these orders,  they will apply the Islamic
law.  In short:  who does not accept or  goes away or will be executed.
These orders apply to Knaye,  Yacoubieh and Jdeideh, which is currently served
by our brethren.  For  those who may not know the area, those villages are
exclusively Christian.   This is exactly what happened in Ghassanie last
June.

I invite everyone to pray for all the  communities of Syria, especially for
those who live under the control of these  extremists.

I ask all of our fraternity, each in the  manner they consider appropriate
to insert in the Christmas novena, which begins  tomorrow, December 16, a
special time of prayer for our brothers and for the  communities entrusted to
their care.

The word that we hear these days sounds  particularly provocative:  “The
blind receive their sight, and the lame  walk, the lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,  and the poor have good tidings
preached to them” (Mt 11: 5).  We pray that  the hears of these people will be
open to listening and especially that our  small flock of Syria continue to
put their trust in the Lord, without  fear.

Fraternally,

Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M.
Custos  of the Holy Land