Category: Daily Reflections
“My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my Savior.” –Luke 1:46-47 The words of today’s Gospel passage, commonly known as the Magnificat, are prayed every single day by Catholic priests, religious, and some lay people in the Liturgy of the Hours. These are words to unite people each day. Mary had a heavy cross to bear. When she prayed her Magnificat, she didn’t know if Joseph would receive her or reject her. She could have said, “My cross is heavy, my future unsure, and I’m scared.” However, she focused on the Lord, rejoiced...
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“Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be…?’ ” –Luke 1:34 To have a true Christmas, to meet Christ at Mass in a new, glorious way during the Christmas season, we must have a “Mary” Christmas and love Jesus as Mary does. To have a “Mary” Christmas, we should: not fear (Lk 1:30), be filled with God’s grace (Lk 1:30), have “the Holy Spirit…come upon” us (Lk 1:35), believe that “nothing is impossible with God” (Lk 1:37), rejoice in being the Lord’s servants, that is, the slaves of the Lord (Lk 1:38), “let it be done” to us according...
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“The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” –Luke 1:35 Mary is a model disciple. She is worthy of being imitated. Mary did God’s will, no matter what it entailed as the servant of the Lord. She welcomed and received the Holy Spirit. Then she ministered with the Spirit’s power and the gifts during her visit to Zechariah and Elizabeth. She gave her body to the Lord. So many these days will not let the Lord have their body. Often in today’s me-first culture, we hear: “It’s my body, and my...
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“I was sent to…bring you this good news.” –Luke 1:19 “Each man speaks from his heart’s abundance” (Lk 6:45). Zechariah’s words to the angel give evidence that his heart did not trust God. He possibly felt that God turned a “deaf ear” to his decades-long prayers for a child. Thus, when the angel Gabriel announced that God had heard his prayers (Lk 1:13), the doubt and lack of trust that filled his heart flowed naturally out of his mouth. For his lack of trust in God’s messenger, Zechariah was struck mute (Lk 1:20, 22) and deaf (Lk 1:62). He thought...
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“Joseph her husband, an upright man unwilling to expose her to the law, decided to divorce her quietly.” –Matthew 1:19 Joseph planned to divorce Mary and, therefore, Jesus. This Christmas, we also may be tempted to divorce Jesus indirectly, and thereby miss out on Christmas. Throughout history, there have been more innkeepers and Herods at Christmas than wise men and shepherds. Even now, few are at the side of Jesus in the manger. Most of the world continues to ignore the Christ of Christmas. Joseph would have rejected Jesus if he had not made a super act of faith and...
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