We are nearing the end of our Advent journey as we celebrate the 4th
Sunday of Advent today. We
have heard from different prophets and messengers during Advent, helping us
prepare a path for the Lord in our lives and in the world. We heard from prophets like Isaiah and John
the Baptist. Today, we hear from two special prophets – the Angel Gabriel and the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Throughout these weeks of the holy Advent season, we talked about how we are
called to use this holy season of preparation to bring joy and hope and renewal
into our lives. The
Gospel of the Annunciation is a fitting message for us today of this last
Sunday in Advent.
What insight can me derive from the
Annunciation that we can use to help us on our journey? First,
we need to realize that today we look at Advent and the Christmas story knowing
how it is all going to turn out. We
know that it is going to be a story that changed the world in its day and
continues to change our modern world today. However, Mary didn’t know how things were going to turn out. In
fact, she is troubled by what the Angel has to proclaim to her. Even
so, Mary listens to what he had to say and she pondered those things in her
hearts. A lot
of time in our own lives, when we are trying to discern God’s will or when we
are trying to decide the right thing to do, we don’t know how things are going
to turn out. It is
good for us to recognize that we are not alone.
And
what about what Mary did, pondering those things in her heart? We
live in a world where we feel rushed and where we need an answer as quickly as
possible. We don’t want to wait. We don’t want to ponder and reflect and
discern. We want it now! Mary
and Joseph had plans and dreams, desires and hopes. I am sure that they had expectations of how their
life together would unfold. And
what God was asking of her was putting all those plans and dreams in disarray. After
pondering these things in her heart, Mary still answered: How can this be? I have had no relations with
a man? How can I be with child? But,
after further pondering and further listening, after being told that nothing is
impossible with God, Mary answers, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Behold, I am God’s servant. We
all need time to ponder and discern and listen to God. If
not, then we can get so caught up in the busy-ness and day-to-day duties of our
own lives that we can have a hard time hearing the voice of God in our
lives. I
know that the Knights of Columbus and the ladies of our parish both sponsor
times of retreat each year – and those who partake of those retreat really get
a lot out of them. I
myself am getting ready to go back to the Camino pilgrimage in Spain the end of January, and I’ll be going by myself this time, not with a group. I want to
spent that time in prayer and reflection with God. I am really relishing having that those three
weeks on retreat experience with him.
And that is something all of us should think about – about the time we
spend in prayer and reflecting and in pondering God’s voice calling out to us.
And
that leads me to the third insight I take away from our reading today – that
God is both immanent and transcendent – that God is both a reality that exists
in our world, but that he is also is not confined or defined by our world. I
look at the spirituality I am called to as a diocesan priest. I am called to spend time in prayer and study
and reflection, to practice the devotions of our faith and to lead the faithful
in those devotions. I am called to seek
the divine that is beyond my human understanding of it. But I
also cannot neglect the reality around me.
We are called to follow Christ’s values and justice. We are called to reach out to our
neighbor. We are called to proclaim the
Gospel in the reality of our world. We
are to fully participate in society and read the signs of the times to quote
the Second Vatican Council. We
are to see God as both immanent and transcendent – not to exclude one to the
detriment of the other. In
fact, the prayer after communion on Wednesday of this past week, proclaimed
that through our partaking of the Eucharist, we pray that we are to wisely
judge the things of this earth, and to hold fast to the things of heaven –
emphasizing both the immanent and the transcendent. Remember,
we are to welcome the Christ child into our world and into our hearts, the
child called Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” The
Virgin Mary looked at the reality of her world, but she did not limit God to
that reality. And so she was able to
understand his call for her.
Mary
is an important part of our Advent journey and the Christmas story. But she is so much more. As a
convert to Catholicism, the richness of the Marian tradition and theology in
our Catholic faith has been an important part of my journey, especially now as
a priest. Back
in October of 2013, Pope Francis celebrated the final apparition of the Blessed
Virgin Mary’s appearance at Fatima. He
mentioned today’s Gospel, the way Mary chose to say yes to being the Mother of
God, the Mother of our Savior and ultimately our Mother. Pope
Francis consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He asked us to invoke Mary's intercessions,
that she may help us to be open to God's surprises, to be faithful to him each
and every day, and to praise and thank him for being our strength. May
that be our prayer today on this last Sunday of the Advent season and every
day.
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