Today, the gospel passage speaks of the Annunciation of God's divine plan which the angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary. Do not be afraid, he said to her, for you have found favour with God (Lk 1:30-31). With these words, the angel called Mary to step outside of herself and to dare to embrace a new truth. This is precisely what still happens with us today, whenever God calls us to step outside of our own habits and practices, and to set out for new horizons.
Mary's 'yes' shows us both her willingness to cooperate with God's eternal plan to bring His son into the world, and another part of the preparations that God was making in order to prepare humanity for the great gift of Christmas. This is how He does it: God invites us to say 'yes' so that through us, another part of his plan can be revealed. We may not always understand how it is that God is inviting us to be part his plan, but if we have grown to trust him even in small things, we can in turn place our confidence in him, even if the matter at hand is more complex.
Jesus holds the key that opens God's merciful heart so that He can be present to us, even as we strive to imitate his virtues. Let us ask him to direct our hearts, our actions and our words so that we can say 'yes', and then marvel at God's handiwork.
Continuing our journey toward the celebration of Christmas, we hear the fourth O Antiphon in today's liturgy: O Key of David ... come to liberate the prisoner. Isaiah, chapter 22 describes the arrival of a new king who holds a key to the saving of his people.
This is part of the seven O Antiphons that appear in the liturgy of the Church during these final seven days leading up to the celebration of Christmas.
Have a great day.
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