Posted on 03/25/2015 10:46:15 PM PDT by Steelfish
Because Mary Said “Yes…” — A Reflection For The Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord
March 25, 2011 by Fr. Thomas Rosica
Standing in the middle of the present day city of Nazareth is the mammoth Basilica of the Annunciation, built around what is believed to be the dwelling of Mary. In a grotto-like room at the heart of the basilica is a small inscription on an altar. It reads, “verbum caro hic factum est,” here the Word became flesh. There, it is believed, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, and her response changed the world forever.
Imagine yourself in Mary’s place, asked to say “yes” to a divine plan so vast, so profound and so seemingly impossible that you cannot comprehend it. “How can this be?” she asks, bewildered. She is rooted in the faith of her ancestors, and yet now an angel has appeared in the midst of everyday life, extending a startling invitation. “You have found favor with God,” the angel says, “and you will conceive and bear His Son.” Will she accept?
It is Mary above all others who can teach us what it means to live by faith, and how to respond when God’s providence disrupts the daily course of our lives, overturning its rhythms and expectations. Despite her fears and uncertainty over how this promise could be fulfilled, she still answered “Yes.” Are we able to respond to God this way?
When we reflect on the Annunciation to Mary, and her acceptance of the angel’s message, we also reflect on our own vocation — our own calling from God. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” — an echo of Mary’s “Be it done unto me according to your word.”
Each time we commit ourselves to embracing God’s call and accepting His will, we mark a new point on the path of our relationship with Him. For the rest of her life, Mary pondered her extraordinary encounter with God, turning the weight of the angel’s message over and over again in her heart. From the manger to the cross, Mary’s life was radically changed — her relationship with God profoundly deepened — the moment she said “Yes.”
Mary received and welcomed God’s Word in the fullest sense — becoming impregnated with it, and bearing it to the world. Angels might not appear in our doorsteps, but we do encounter God in each of our daily prayers, and he whispers to us a similar invitation: Will we accept His love and bring it joyously to those around us? Will we trust in His providence, even when we can’t see the path ahead? Amid the noise of everyday life, will we listen for and embrace his call?
When making his pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Annunciation, Pope Benedict XVI offered this prayer to the humble Virgin of Nazareth. It speaks for all of us who likewise seek to accept God’s will with joy:
Mary, Mother of the “Yes,” you listened to Jesus, and know the tone of his voice and the beating of his heart. Morning Star, speak to us of him, and tell us about your journey of following him on the path of faith."
Your consciousness has nothing to do with it. God knit you together in your mother's womb. God determined that you would exist. Therefore, it's His will...
Yes. But their will does not supersede God’s. Still they were not forced to will me by God. They had freedom to do so and did.
Incorrect yet again. Your parents' sheer force of will did not cause your conception. Not in the least. It was God's will that caused it. Again. God's will. HIS choice.
Yes. But their will does not supersede God’s who must be given ultimate credit for anything or anyone coming into existence. Still they were not forced to make me by God. They had freedom to do so and did.
And you made the wrong trifecta. Your parents did not "make" you... God did. They had the freedom to do that act, but they didn't make you -- God made you!!! HIS will... HIS choice...
Since it has nothing to do with our "will," how are we free? We are free to sin because that is what we do because we are born into sin. We want to do nothing else until or unless God, in HIS will and mercy, chooses to save us.
Let's skip ahead a little to Romans 5:6-11 :
"6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
We were dead in sins. The only thing we wanted to do was sin. That was our choice. We can't "choose" to be saved. God chooses. He sheds his grace. He changes our hearts. Where's our will to do that?
And, likewise, Mary could no more have said "yes" -- she said nothing of the sort. It was God's will.
And a little further, just to be clear, in verse 17, the beauty of it shown:
" 17For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."
We receive the gift; we don't choose it.
Hoss
Eucharist (n.) Look up Eucharist at Dictionary.com "sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the Communion," mid-14c., from Old French eucariste, from Late Latin eucharistia, from Greek eukharistia "thanksgiving, gratitude," later "the Lord's Supper," from eukharistos "grateful," from eu "well" (see eu-) + stem of kharizesthai "show favor," from kharis "favor, grace," from PIE root *gher- (5) "to like, want" (see hortatory). Eukharisteo is the usual verb for "to thank, to be thankful" in the Septuagint and Greek New Testament. Related: Eucharistic.
is not a wafer but an event
**No, he realizes that Protestantism is a man-made tradition. That’s why it only came about in the 16th century.**
Which is worse.....man-made traditions multiplying because of the improvements in mechanical printing, or the adding of man-made traditions (by force or otherwise) over a much longer period of time?
**Wow, a little laundry list of things Protestants often get wrong. By the way, do you know that many Protestants used to believe Jesus was an only child? http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2010/06/john-calvins-belief-in-perpetual.html**
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
**Well, at least we can spell the word pageantry. Products of Government Schools often struggle with such basics.**
LOL! Actually, I was a champion speller in grade school, back in the early sixties, when the small town public schools still taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
I’m sixty now, and have forgotten a few things. But, I can still arc weld upside down, drive an 18 wheeler like I’m wearing it (off today, or I wouldn’t be posting), and MOST importantly, by the grace of God and the ‘Sword of the Spirit’, take you to school in a Godhead debate.
“Your consciousness has nothing to do with it.”
Sure it does. To make a point that God created me without my say so is a meaningless point since I was not able to give a say so since I did not exist so my consciousness has everything to do with it as to whether it is a valid point or not. And it is not a valid point.
“God knit you together in your mother’s womb. God determined that you would exist. Therefore, it’s His will...”
Yep, and now I have free will. I can exercise my free will to kill myself or someone else. Yes, it would be God’s will as to whether or not I succeed, but that does not remove my free will to act.
The same God that created me without my say so will not save me against my will. I have free will. God gave it to me. It is a gift.
“The eucharist;...is not a wafer but an event”
The Eucharist:
356. Why does Christ give us His own body and blood in the Holy Eucharist?
Christ gives us His own body and blood in the Holy Eucharist: first, to be offered as a sacrifice commemorating and renewing for all time the sacrifice of the cross; second, to be received by the faithful in Holy Communion; third, to remain ever on our altars as the proof of His love for us, and to be worshipped by us. http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/eucha1a.htm
I do not rely solely on secular online dictionaries for my understanding of religious things. I suggest you don’t either.
She did say “yes” — see your Bible.
“I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me as you say.”
For awhile yet, then I am off again.
The obvious is in your Bible — Luke 1:26 and onward.
I posted etymology, not definition
“Which is worse.....man-made traditions multiplying because of the improvements in mechanical printing, or the adding of man-made traditions (by force or otherwise) over a much longer period of time?”
Protestantism is always worse than the truth - which is the Catholic Faith. Protestantism should always be rejected because it is man-made, a heresy of the 16th century.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
The wrongs I posted were Protestant. If a Protestant believes the truth, then he has gotten something right.
“But, I can still ...by the grace of God and the ‘Sword of the Spirit’, take you to school in a Godhead debate.”
No, clearly that won’t happen. The very fact that you yourself said Protestantism is essentially man-made (”Which is worse.....man-made traditions multiplying because of the improvements in mechanical printing”) means you lost already.
“I posted etymology, not definition”
I never said you posted a definition.
He gave His body once, for all.
Really? Then it seems the god you worship isn't the sovereign, omnipotent God of the Bible. It's a god that is somehow responsible to created creatures.
How very sad for you.
Hoss
Pretty sad isn't it? That would describe me, until I came out of a certain works based religion.
She wasn’t answering a question.
BUMP
Luke 1:30The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31"And behold, you willconceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;…
Not "will you please" or would you consider" BUT "YOU WILL"
Stealing that for future use
YEP
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