FRIDAY, DEC 8
Luke 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.
Grace: I ask for the grace to know Jesus in a deeper way that I may abundantly love and follow him.
Annunciation, for me, is always connected with Zeffirelli’s movie, “Jesus of Nazareth.” In this film the young Mary wakes up and sees a light shining through the window. We cannot see the angel or hear his words, but we hear the troubled Mary’s reaction: “How will this be since I am a virgin?”
And then, as she listens further, we hear her serene response: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” I have never entertained an angel with wings giving me a divine message. Yet I have experienced moments of quiet light – where a word of God has touched me in a deep way. Let me pause to recall my “annunciation moments.”
On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we recall how God prepared Mary to receive this message. Let me recall with gratitude how God has prepared me too: through family, teachers, friends, religious figures, and significant moments….Mary’s “yes” became a Magnificat – may mine do the same.
For Reflection and Prayer:
Call to mind moments in your life when you have responded positively to God’s call.
In this time of advent is God calling you again?
What resistances do you feel to this call?
To close out your time of prayer you may wish to enter into this scene of Annunciation:
The Contributor:
Fr. Frank Santucci OMI is a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate and Kusenberger Chair of Oblate Studies at Oblate School of Theology
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Jesus of Nazareth, DVD, directed by Franco Zeffirelli (1977; Vancouver, British Columbia: Lion’s Gate Studios, 2002).