God's Angelic Invitation

~~~ Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord ~~~

~~~ Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 ~~~ Psalm 40 ~~~ 

~~~ Hebrews 10:4-10 ~~~ Luke 1:26-38 ~~~

...Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;

in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.

Mary does say, Yes. 

She gave not just heart and soul to God;

she gave her whole body.

Have you ever given your mind, soul,

 and body to anything?

If you are a mother perhaps you are inclined

 to answer in the affirmative.

Mary knew she was a virgin, 

how could she give up control

 of her body to the invitation of an angel.

God did not send Jesus into the body of a lamb.

Slaughtering an animal could not offer 

the mercy of God to mankind.

We as humans needed to be saved by another human.

We needed to be saved by someone who could 

understand our sinfulness.

Jesus was without sin, while he took 

on the reparation for all sin.

The Annunciation of the Lord

brought Mary into direct and vital 

contact with our salvation.

Over time Mary came to a deeper understanding

 and acceptance of her roll as the woman 

who bore our salvation.

Mary gave birth to our salvation.

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.”

When Mary spoke these beautiful words of submission

 she did not have an insider view of the next

 thirty three years of her life.

God gave her unbelievable joy at the Annunciation.

Her joy was great enough to keep alive her desire

 to be a lifelong servant of God.

Have you considered God wants 

you to also be his life long servant.

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Doing the will of God keeps us focused

 on the reality that he came to dwell among us.

Mary held nothing back from her 

submission to the will of God.

We can learn so much from her. 

Mary can be a model for how we too can 

trust the Lord to take care of us.

We are tempted to hold back part of our life from God.

Mary teaches us that there is no reason for us 

to hold back any part of our existence.

We are invited to take the lead from Mary...

to give all of who we are to God.

Blessed to answer with our personal 'yes'.

Thank you, Mary,

for your total commitment to doing

 the will of the Lord.

...for being our inspiration to do the same...

~~~Peace~~~

Breaking News...You are Saved!

Solemnity of the Annunciation

~~Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10~~Psalm 40~~Hebrews 10:4-10~~Luke 1:26-38~~

Mary's 'yes' to the angel Gabriel
is the most profound and unique sign God could ever have given us.

Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

God, sending Jesus to be one of us is an extraordinary and miraculous sign,
proving just how much he loves us.

We should not be surprised, because everything about God is extraordinary.
His miraculous signs abound beyond our comprehension.

God is miraculous even we do not have the visible evidence.

We too may want signs.
But we only want signs of the positive things in life.
We do not want signs of impending catastrophes.

Here we are well into Lent.
Why would a passage about signs be necessary?
Why in the depths of repentance
would we need to hear of Mary's Annunciation?

I believe that the Annunciation is the sign given to us
from God that he has every intention of saving us.
He plans to keep his covenant with us...we are his chosen people.

The Father sends the Son to redeem the sins of all of mankind.
Emmanuel was coming. We have ample reason
 to be hopeful in our time of repentance.

Sacrificing lambs and turtle doves are not sufficient
offerings for the sins of the whole world.
It would take a person...one unique person...to atone for these sins...
Jesus is the only one chosen for the task.
We are Blessed through the offering of the
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
once for all.
One person,
One life,
One death
sufficient for all of eternity.

Thank you is simply not adequate.
Peace.

Annunciation...an Easter Blessing

~~~ Annunciation of the Lord ~~~

 

~~~ Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 ~~~ Psalm 40 ~~~ Hebrews 10:4-10 ~~~ Luke 1:26-38 ~~~ 

 

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

 

The Blessed Mother Mary gives us a beautiful example

of what it means to live a life of faith.

She was an example of the gospel message even before

it was preached by her own Son.

She had faith in the Resurrection from the beginning...

perhaps that conviction gave her the strength

to make the sacrifice of her child.

 

Mary knew in her heart from the time of the Annunciation

 that God was only loaning this child in her womb to her.

 She knew in her heart, but she still had to live the thirty-three years

with her Son knowing he would give his life for the sins of the world.

 

Today we remember that Mary said yes to both the birth and the death

of Jesus.

 

Mary was to give birth to Emmanuel...she brought God with us into reality.

She was chosen by God for this special honor.

I often reflect on exactly what kind of woman Mary must have been

for God to have picked her.

There were so many others he could have chosen, but God picked Mary.

There was something extraordinary about who she was as a young girl.

God was preparing her for himself from her own conception.

He prepared her heart so that keeping her free will

she gladly accepted the announcement from the Angel Gabriel.

 

Today we celebrate the beginning of the rest of the beautiful life of Mary.

 

The grace of God permeated throughout her life.

It was only by this grace that she was able to

have the strength to endure the sadness she must have experienced.

 

Mary was fully human; she experienced all of the emotions

as any other mother.

We thank you, Mary, for saying yes.

We thank you for your sacrifice of love you made for us.

 

We can only give to in return our devotion and love.

You were a gentle and strong woman.

 

Your life is an inspiration to me.

Your complete surrender to the will of God is unsurpassed by any other woman.

You are the woman for all ages...the shining star so bright and pure.

You are the one who brought forth the Light of the World.

 

My prayer today is for your qualities to become a part of who I am too...

a strong and gentle woman who loves God with her

whole heart, mind, body, and soul.

 

Easter Blessings

 are nestled here within the

 Annunciation.