Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 20, 2021
In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“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 called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Until recently, Mary was not somebody whom I identified as a realistic role model. Throughout my lifetime, I was told that I should look up to Mary because we are both women. In the same breath, they would talk about how she was gentle, obedient, and pure.
While these are honorable qualities, they did not resonate with me as I am loud, strong-willed, and, well, blemished. I thought that Mary must not be my person to connect with and that’s okay. There are many other saints whose lives I could ponder.
It wasn’t until I spent time talking with friends at Bethlehem Farm, an intentional Catholic community in Appalachia dedicated to simplicity, community, prayer and service, that my impression of Mary changed.
My friends there described Mary as strong, courageous, and fiercely loving. We see this in the gospel today in the words, “May it be done to me according to your word.” She courageously accepts God’s call despite the societal repercussions of this decision. She resolutely says yes in the name of love, trusting in God’s word.
By accepting God’s will, she empowered herself to break from the norms of the time because she knew she had God on her side. Mary was a revolutionary for her time and ours.
So many times, we remain conditioned to our own mental representations of the people of the Church. We must allow the Holy Spirit to inspire our minds and grow our understanding as my friends at Bethlehem Farm encouraged me to expand my image of Mary.
While Mary may not have been blemished, I think she must have had a strong will and a strong voice to do what God had called her to accomplish.