Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1, 26-38
In the sixth month,
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.
The Lord is with you
1. To a virgin. God’s call is always personal and He knows your life story and also your limits. Don’t be afraid when you feel the desire to help others, enhance it and don’t keep it to yourself. What stimulates you to serve helps you to dream; what allows you to dream motivates you to act and your actions which spring from your dreams carried out with a spirit of service make you happy and make others happy at the same time.
2. Hail, full of grace! Towards the end of the year, many times you feel down and your head spins around what you weren’t able to achieve or what you simply failed at. Today the Lord is inviting you to be optimistic and look ahead. Remember that your life story is marked by something beautiful, which is God’s work in you. There’s always a possibility of something new as long as you set your mind to it. Therefore, don’t let go of your dreams and what you want to do, because God is a God of opportunities.
3. The handmaid of the Lord. Only those who know well who they are, and are aware of their limits, can freely become servants. Because those who love, assume a liberating form of servitude, since they trust that other person whom they know will bring them to their fullness. There are two types of servitude, a negative and a positive one. The negative form is that enslavement that absorbs and mutilates. Positive servitude is the one that brings fulfilment and authenticity. Today be a servant of the Lord.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
