Daily Gospel Reflection

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December 20, 2023

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Lk 1:26-38
Listen to the Audio Version

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.

Reflection

Elizabeth (Owers) Mertens '14
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Today’s gospel is one of my favorite Scripture passages—so much so that my husband and I chose it to be the gospel reading at our wedding. Out of the richness and beauty of this telling of the annunciation, I am most drawn to the end of the passage: “Then the angel departed from her.”

Many of us have been blessed with transformative and joyful experiences of God—spiritual retreats, celebrating our weddings or those we love, and welcoming children into our families come to mind. Yet we, like Mary, spend most of our lives in this place after “the angel departed” from us, not during an intense encounter with the Lord.

In the course of these mundane times, there may also be instances of interpersonal struggles, difficult decisions, illness, and death in which those prior experiences of God’s closeness feel impossibly far away. It’s comforting, though, and quite a gift to know that because of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, we don’t have to wait for or rely on such extraordinary occurrences to encounter God in a real and tangible way.

Additionally, after this gospel passage, the first thing Mary does is visit Elizabeth to share the news of what God has done for her. May those of us blessed with concrete experiences of God working in our lives have the opportunity and the inclination to share what we’ve received with our family, friends, and communities, increasing the joy and hope of this blessed Advent season.

Prayer

Rev. John Sebastian Gutierrez, C.S.C.

Heavenly Father, you express the greatness of your love through the Immaculate Conception. May we always rejoice at your Word made flesh in our lives. Continue to send us the fullness of your grace so that we might be transformed to bring about the hope of a Savior in our longing world. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Dominic of Silos

Dominic was born in eleventh century Spain to a poor family. He grew up doing the work of his father—shepherding—and he came to love the solitude and silence. He left the family and joined a monastery nearby, and grew in holiness and stature. He was eventually elected abbot.

He came into a dispute with the king, and was removed from the monastery. He traveled to a different monastery in another part of Spain, Silos, and was appointed abbot there. The monastery in Silos was in disrepair and its community life was in sad shape—Dominic restored the physical and spiritual foundations of life there and made it one of the most famous monasteries in Spain.

Miracles were attributed to Dominic in his work—it was said that there was not an illness that could not be cured through his intercession. There is even a story that has been passed down that a group of 300 Christians who were enslaved in north Africa were set free when they prayed in his name.

Dominic died in 1073. Nearly 100 years later he appeared to Blessed Joan of Aza, a woman who was making a pilgrimage to his shrine. In this vision, he promised Joan that she would have a son—soon after, she did, and named her son after the saint who appeared to her. This Dominic is famous for restoring the Church through the establishment of a religious order that continues today: the Order of Preachers.

St. Dominic of Silos is patron saint of prisoners, pregnant women, and shepherds.

St. Dominic of Silos, you appeared to the mother of the great St. Dominic to foretell her son’s birth, pray for us!


Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Dominic of Silos is in the public domain. Last accessed November 1, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.