Fourth Sunday of Advent
(Sunday 24th December 2017)
Give ourselves trustingly to God – (Luke 1:26-38)
Today’s Gospel presents us with the moment of the Incarnation, when “the Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14) in the virginal womb of Mary. God who created the world, did not abandon his creation, but returned to it as man to save it from sin and death. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). The Word becoming incarnate is the pivotal event in the history of the world. For this reason, St Paul refers to this moment as it the fullness of time (cf. Gal 4:4). Over the centuries humanity had been awaiting a Saviour. It was revealed to the People of Israel that a Messiah would indeed come. And now at last He has come. The Incarnation, the mystery of Christmas, shows above all else the immense love of God for us. We can never fully plumb the depths of this love, but through the liturgy of these days, and in our own personal prayer, the Holy Spirit leads us to a greater understanding and appreciation of the fact that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). Saying the Angelus helps us to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation and the infinite love of God it implies.
Today’s Gospel presents us with the person of Our Lady at the moment of her vocation. The event we contemplate is also called the “Annunciation”, and is the first Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. God announces his plan of salvation to Mary. At the heart of this saving plan is Mary’s vocation as Mother of God. In her liturgy the Church praises Mary by saying: “You are the highest honour of our race” (Judith 15:9). The greatness and beauty of Mary, and all her privileges, including her Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity and Assumption, stem from the fact that she is the Mother of the Saviour. Advent is a wonderful time to grow in devotion to Our Lady, and with her, to prepare for the coming of Christ.
Like Mary, we each have a vocation, a call from God. Within the common call of all the baptized to holiness, each one has his or her own path to follow to become a saint. It is important to be open to God’s loving plan for us, and not to be afraid, as the archangel said to Mary (cf. Lk 1:30), even if sometimes our vocation takes us by surprise (cf. Lk 1:29). Our Mother’s response to her vocation – “Let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38) – opens the world to salvation, and also shows us that the path to true happiness is to give ourselves trustingly to God.