Dan Allen ’07, ’11 M.Div.
Spirituality Program Director, Notre Dame Alumni Association

Where are you from? It is a question that has an answer for each of us. Some people come from great cities, and others come from small or obscure places. We also sometimes assume the importance or capacity of people based on their hometowns or families. However, as we have often discovered, God calls people from all places and often defies our assumptions about who might be used in the divine plan.

Our travels today brought us to Nazareth. To get a sense of its significance in biblical times, consider Nathanael’s question in the Gospel of John, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” There seemed to be an assumption that Nazareth was inconsequential, that nothing important would happen there and no one significant would come from there, but we now know otherwise.

We felt the amazement of being in a place we had heard referenced so often in the scriptures. Mary of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth. This is a spiritual home for all of us, and as we explored it, we were able to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation. This beautiful church is built over what is thought to be Mary’s childhood home, where the angel appeared to her and asked of her something truly remarkable.

Seeking this humble home of stone where such a momentous event occurred touched me deeply. I have to admit that I was overcome with emotion at the holiness of the place and chance to be here. I, too, am from a small place called Hays, Kansas. Most people only know about it if they have gotten stuck there in a snowstorm on the way to Colorado! I marveled at God’s grace in my life to have the occasion to come from such a place and be here at the spot where the Word of God first came to the world in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

That led me to think about the fact that Jesus comes to make a home in each of our hearts. He also shows none of our prejudice when selecting those who might receive him. It is up to us to make our hearts ready for him, the Word made Flesh who seeks to dwell in our flesh.

Jesus makes his home in our relationships too if we allow this to happen. Another beautiful sight I saw today was over 20 married couples in our group renewing their wedding vows near the site of the Wedding at Cana. People shared the number of years that they had been married, including one couple who had been married 55 years, and it was inspiring to witness. Here were people who had opened their relationship to God’s grace and who had seen it last through the inevitable challenges any marriage faces.

Lent gives us the opportunity to open ourselves to this same grace, to rend our hearts as we prepare for Easter. When we do this kind of preparation, we realize that God is working in simple and often mysterious ways. For example, St. André Bessette was thought to be of such limited intellect that he was given only basic tasks that revolved around being a porter. Yet André’s fidelity to that ministry, devotion to St. Joseph, and care for each and every person who came to the door led him to sainthood, the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

How else might God be working in the people, situations, and places in our lives? As we have seen, no matter where we are from or in what situation we find ourselves, an infusion of God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit can cause great transformation. Thus, when God’s calling arrives, let us answer with the words of that young maiden of Nazareth, “May it be done to me according to your word.”