Hôm nay chúng ta mừng lễ Đức Mẹ Truyền Tin. Chúng ta thử nghĩ là điều gì sẽ xảy ra? nếu như Đức Maria đã không thưa “vâng” với Thiên Thần Gabriel? Trong khi chúng ta mừng ngày kỷ niệm biến cố Truyền Tin hôm nay, một số chúng ta có thể cho rằng Đức Maria đã tự động đồng ý lời mời của Thiên Chúa để làm mẹ Ngôi Hai một cách rất dễ dàng. Tuy nhiên, Thiên Chúa đã cho Đức Maria tự do lựa chọn và mẹ đã xin vâng theo Thánh ý Chúa, mẹ xin vâng vì mẹ tin tưởng vào Thiên Chúa. Đức Maria quyết định đặt cuộc sống của mình hoàn toàn trong bàn tay của Thiên Chúa và tin rằng Chúa sẽ chăm sóc và phù hộ cho mẹ.
Đức Maria là một mô hình người môn đệ. Sự tự do chính đáng không phải chỉ đơn giản là có thể làm những gì chúng ta muốn làm. Nhưng những thành quả chúng ta đạt được khi chúng ta đặt sự tự do của chúng ta trong việc phục vụ trong mục đích tốt. Khi chúng ta chấp nhận những gì Thiên Chúa đang mời gọi chúng ta làm trong cuộc sống này và hợp tác với Thiên Chúa, thì điều ấy sẽ mang lại nhiều phúc lành cho chúng ta cũng như những người xung quanh chúng ta. Chúng ta thấy điều này trong cuộc sống của Đức Maria, Chúng ta thấy những điều này trong cuộc sống, trong cái chết và sự phục sinh của Chúa Giêsu. Chúa Giêsu đã mời gọi chúng ta làm gì? Điều đó có thể liên quan đến những thách thức và những sự không vững chắc. Chúng ta có thể tin tưởng rằng Thiên Chúa sẽ lo cho chúng ta? Chúng ta có tin rằng việc nói "xin vâng" sẽ mang lại phúc lành cho chúng ta và những người xung quanh chúng ta?
Lạy Chúa, giúp chúng con nghe được tiếng của Chúa nói với chúng con; Và ban cho chúng con có được lòng can đảm để tin tưởng vào Chúa một cách hoàn toàn.
Annunciation of the Lord
What would have happened if Mary had not said 'yes'? As we celebrate the Annuciation today, some may presume that Mary automatically and easily agreed to the invitation of God. However, God gave Mary true freedom. Fear of the unknown, lack of self-confidence or any other reason could have led Mary to say ‘no’. Instead, amidst a challenging and uncertain future, Mary freely chooses to trust God. She decides to put herself fully in God’s hands and believe that God will care for her. Mary is a model disciple.
True freedom is not simply being able to do what we want to do. Fulfillment comes when we place our freedom at the service of some good purpose. When we accept what God is calling us to do in this life and cooperate with God, this brings blessing to us as well as to those around us. We see this in the life of Mary. We see this in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. What is Jesus’ invitation to me? It may involve challenge and uncertainty. Can I trust that God will care for me? Do I trust that saying ‘yes’ will bring blessing to me and those around me? Lord, help me to hear Your voice; bless me with the courage to trust You completely.
Reflection Solemnity of the Annunciation,
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.”
Imagine if the Angel Gabriel, the glorious Archangel who stands before the Most Holy Trinity, were to come to you and announce to you that you were “full of grace” and that “The Lord is with you.” What an indescribable and awe-inspiring experience that would be! And yet this is exactly what happened to this young teenager, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We celebrate today this amazing event that took place, marking the moment when God took on human flesh within her blessed womb. Note that today is nine months before Christmas. The Church gives us this Solemnity today to invite us to walk with Mary over these coming nine months so as to join her in her rejoicing over the birth of her divine Son.
Much could be said about this glorious Solemnity. We could ponder Mother Mary and her Immaculate Conception. We could ponder the very words spoken by the Archangel. We could ponder the mystery surrounding her pregnancy and the way in which God chose to set this gift into motion. And we could ponder so much more. Though all of these aspects are worth fully pondering and praying over, let’s focus upon the reaction of this young woman to the angelic announcement.
First, we read that Mary was “greatly troubled” and “pondered” these words spoken by the Archangel. Being troubled reveals that Mary did not have full knowledge of what the Archangel was revealing. But the fact that she pondered the words also reveals her openness to a fuller understanding. She then seeks a deeper gift of knowledge by asking, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” This response is first an assent of belief in faith followed by a request for a deeper understanding of this revelation. Faith is the ability to assent to that which we do not fully understand, but true faith always seeks a deeper understanding—and this is what Mary did. After being given some further revelation by the Archangel, Mary fully accepts what was revealed and trusts that what she was told was all she needed to know at that time. And then she offers what has come to be known as her “fiat.” She says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” This fiat of Mary is her perfect prayer of surrender to the will of God, and it is also the perfect model for how we all must respond to the will of God. We must see ourselves as true servants of His will, and we must fully embrace whatsoever God asks of us, completely uniting our wills to His.
Reflect, today, upon these words of our Blessed Mother: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” How is God asking you to make this your prayer also? How is God calling you to serve His most holy will? Are you willing to fully assent to anything and everything God asks of you? As you prayerfully reflect upon this fiat of our Blessed Mother, seek to unite her response to yours so that you, too, will be a servant of the most high God.\
Father in Heaven, You sent Your Son to become incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Your glorious Archangel Gabriel brought forth this Good News. May I always be attentive to the messages You send forth to me as You invite me to join in Your divine mission of bringing Your Son into the world. I say “Yes” this day, dear Lord, to serve Your most holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you invite me today to celebrate and contemplate the Incarnation of your Son. You asked Mary, your handmaid, to be the mother of your Son and she responded with a generous and prompt yes. I humbly ask today that I be strengthened with your grace to respond to your loving will in the same way.
Encountering the Word of God
We Needed a Redeemer: The Liturgy of the Word on the Solemnity of the Annunciation presents three themes for our consideration and meditation: first, our need for a redeemer (Letter to the Hebrews), second, God’s promise and response to this need (Book of Isaiah), and third, Mary's collaboration with God in this redemptive act (Gospel of Luke). The Letter to the Hebrews criticizes the inefficacy of the priesthood and the sacrifices of the Old Law. The immolation of animals cannot sanctify the people; the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. Adam and Eve's sin lost mankind's original holiness and introduced sin and death into the world. God responds to this sin by promising a redeemer, born of a woman (Genesis 3:15). Jesus Christ is God’s response and Jesus enters the world through his incarnation, seeking only to do the will of the Father. Our sin is removed and we are made holy through Jesus’ obedient sacrifice and self-offering. It is his efficacious sacrifice that replaces the former ineffective sacrificial worship. Christ offered himself on the Cross as the one unique sacrifice for our sins. Through his suffering, Christ is made perfect in his humanity and can share this perfection with us, his brothers and sisters. In this way, Christ is made our high-priest and is the one who gives us access to God. It is through Christ, then, that we are redeemed, consecrated, and sanctified.
Mary’s Collaboration with God in the Act of Redemption: The two readings (from Hebrews and Isaiah) contrast ineffective actions (forging military alliances to defend Jerusalem and immolating animals to sanctify the people) with effective actions - trusting in the Lord and obeying his commands. Isaiah’s sign, however, goes beyond the promise of an immediate successor to Ahaz and ultimately points to the Incarnation and virgin birth of Jesus Christ. This is how Matthew will interpret the passage from Isaiah: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23). And the virgin’s name was Mary. This is the mystery we contemplate today. God has prepared this moment from all eternity – the moment when his only-begotten and eternal Son would enter time and human history, not to condemn the world but to save it and redeem it. God lovingly preserved Mary from the stain of original sin and knew that her response to the Angel Gabriel would be one of complete self-offering: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am in awe of your mother and her generous “yes” to your divine will. She was the queen mother of the royal Messiah, yet considered herself a lowly handmaiden. Help me to have that same humility as I say “yes” to your will today.
Tuesday Mar 24- the Annunciation of the Lord
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you invite me today to celebrate and contemplate the Incarnation of your Son. You asked Mary, your handmaid, to be the mother of your Son and she responded with a generous and prompt yes. I humbly ask today that I be strengthened with your grace to respond to your loving will in the same way.
1. The Initial Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy: The First Reading is taken from the prophet Isaiah. Originally, Isaiah gave a prophetic sign to the wicked king of Judah, Ahaz. Instead of trusting in the Lord, Ahaz trusted in human power and decided to submit to and pay tribute to the Assyrian Empire. The prophet Isaiah vigorously opposed this policy and communicated the sign that the Lord gave the king: “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” The royal son, born to Abi, the wife of King Ahaz, partially fulfilled this prophecy and became one of the two good kings of Judah. This son, born of a young woman, was King Hezekiah, who reigned from 715 to 687 B.C. Hezekiah’s reign “was marked by the great religious reform that laced Jerusalem at the heart of religious life, and by his foreign policy centered on gaining independence from Assyria” (Hahn (ed.), Catholic Bible Dictionary, 360). 2 Kings 18:5-6 says this about King Hezekiah: “He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses.” Hezekiah was only an initial fulfillment of the prophecy. He protected Judah and Jerusalem from the threat of the Assyrians and brought the worship of God to the center of his Kingdom, but he himself was not “God with us.”
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