Reflection for SATURDAY, Annunciation of the Lord.

By

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar 

Gospel Readings 

Luke 1:26-38  

 'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

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, so highly favoured! 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 favour. Listen! You are to conceive 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 am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘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. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.


Reflection on the readings 


As we know, Baptism is the gateway to the rest of the Sacrament.

One must be baptized in order to receive the rest of the Sacraments.

If that can be said of Baptism, so too can be said of the mystery of the Incarnation.

At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will cover her.

The child that she will conceive in her womb will be holy and will be called Son of God.

God becoming man in the womb of Mary, or the Incarnation, is a great mystery that requires faith to accept and understand.

Those whom God has chosen and called and given the faith will be able to accept the mystery of the Incarnation, just as Mary was chosen and called and she responded.

In accepting and believing the mystery of the Incarnation, we then journey with Mary into the life of Jesus, and we will see the mystery of salvation unfold in the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus.

When we can accept and believe in the mystery of the Incarnation, then we will also be able to believe that with God, nothing is impossible.

GOD BLESS YOU

Good morning. Have a nice day. 

HAPPY FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION