O Sim de Maria e os nossos sins de cada dia!…

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Evangelho de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo segundo São Lucas

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

          “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Gospel, (Luke 1: 26-38)

 Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”^{[a] 29} But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. ³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”^{[b] 35} The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁶ And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection

A young woman, when she was absorbed in prayer at her home in Nazareth – received an unexpected and disconcerting visit: a messenger from God brings her an invitation and awaits an answer.

 Hail Full of Grace Do not fear Mary You will conceive and give birth to a son and He will be called son of the Most High…

Mary, in a mixture of astonishment and joy, gives herself totally to this still unknown event and with full confidence in the love of God she responds;

 “Here is the handmaid of the Lord; Let it be done to me according to your word!”

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

With a generous and total yes, Mary decidedly puts herself at the service of God. The divine enters the human for the human to be divine.

As God needed Mary, today too God needs each one of us. He continues to address us in renewed “announcements”, through the voice of our conscience, through personal reflection or on the advice of a friend…

 What “announcement” does God address to me today, and does he expect a yes from me?

Our generous yes can transform lives, free people from addictions, drugs, prostitution, alcohol, adultery, greed, and robberies. It can create an Oasis of happiness in the desert of pain.

Prayer

Merciful and compassionate God helps us to say “yes” to what you ask of us each day in imitation of Your Annunciation to Mary our most Immaculate Mother. Amen

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Pe. Abílio Nunes, SDB (Text in Portugese) Thanks to Mr Cooper for the 0323 Revised Translation Tuesday 5th week Lent