Title: Meditation: Sunday, December 23, 2001
The Catholic Calendar for Sunday, December 23, 2001
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Psalm 24:1-6
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24
A Reflection on today's Scripture:
For nothing is impossible with God. (see Luke 1:38)
As we enter the fourth and final week of this Advent preparation, we
hear the message from the Archangel Gabriel spoken to Mary. Mary was
full of questions -- and Gabriel had the answers! We acknowledge that
we're living amidst an unbelieving and incredulous generation -- an
age when everything has to be proven with empirical data. If the
answer isn't there in black and white, it just isn't so, right?
Wrong!
Unbelievers like to ridicule the virgin birth of Jesus. Even Mary
seemed taken aback, somewhat, by the archangel Gabriel. In her
humility, she was troubled at the angel's announcement "and kept
pondering what manner of greeting this might be." (Lk 1:29) Then she
asked: "How shall this happen, since I do not know man?" (Lk 1:34)
The angel then said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon thee,
and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore
the holy one to be born shall be called the Son of God." (Lk 1:35)
We can imagine that such an incredible message must have left Mary
awestruck! To bring home the reality of this to Mary, to prove that
he was real, the angel added: "...Elizabeth thy kinswoman also has
conceived a son in her old age....for nothing is impossible with
God."
As we have been blessed by these wondrous words of scripture, and in
fact by all our heritage of faith, let us pray that we and all who
seek God's Truth, will be blessed by His grace to believe and ponder
deeply the significance of Jesus' birth.
O Come,
Emmanuel,
God's presence among us, our King and our Judge:
Save us, Lord our God!
(the seventh and last "O Antiphon")
- Joachim, ocds
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All scripture quotes are from the Douay-Rheims edition of the Catholic Bible.
Full text from the New American Bible: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/index.htm
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