SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD - LK 1:28 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

READING OF THE DAY

First reading from the Book of Isaiah

Is 7:10-14; 8:10

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:

Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;

let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

But Ahaz answered,

“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”

Then Isaiah said:

Listen, O house of David!

Is it not enough for you to weary people,

must you also weary my God?

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:

the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,

and shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us!”

Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews

Heb 10:4-10

Brothers and sisters:

It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats

take away sins.

For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;

in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.

Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,

behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,

holocausts and sin offerings,

you neither desired nor delighted in.”

These are offered according to the law.

Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”

He takes away the first to establish the second.

By this “will,” we have been consecrated

through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

Lk 1:26-38

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.

SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD - LK 1:28

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Today's Word of God talks about God sending the angel Gabriel to bring the Word of God to a woman named Mary. The message of God is as follows: “'Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.'" and “'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.'"

The Blessed Mother Mary is a woman placed by God from the beginning in His work of salvation. She was given four privileges by God, which are: that she is the Mother of the Second Person of God, the Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, ever-virgin, and the Assumption where she was taken into heaven body and soul. These four privileges were given to Mother by God from the beginning of time. And the great thing is to be the Mother of God and still be a virgin when giving birth. This is a miracle, showing that only the power of God can do that. Besides Him, no one can turn evil into good, no one has the power to create something from nothing. With human thinking: Mother Mary is a mortal human being and can not be the Mother of God, it is unbelievable. But with the mystery and power of God, He can do everything. These are the privileges and also the four dogmas in the Catholic Church that everyone is required to believe.

The Blessed Mother Mary also could not believe that this was true, that God gave a fetus to reside in her womb. Because in Mary's heart, she knew: She always kept herself a virgin and pure before God, so how could she have a child? But God told Mary that her pregnancy was due to God's power: "'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.'” That is a very great grace that no woman can enjoy that privilege, except Mary alone. This shows that God's mighty and infinite power can do everything. No one can understand God's way in His work of salvation, in the mystery of how the Holy Trinity works: from God to earth to become a human, who can believe? But with God's mystery of salvation, it happened. It is because of His love for humanity that God sent His only Son to earth to become human. This was to save humanity from eternal death and from the imprisonment of Satan.

Besides, a miracle happened to Elizabeth: she reached old age and could not give birth; but with the mystery of God's work, God still gave her the ability to give birth. This is something beyond the human imagination.

Next, God's Word talks about the Blessed Mary's obedience and humility before God: She completely obeyed God's will, entrusted everything to God, and accepted the noble graces that came to her from God. Even though she was a small and lowly person, she completely trusted herself to accept a very great responsibility. This was to receive the Second Person of God into her womb. She collaborated in God's work of salvation by receiving, nurturing, and teaching the Second Person of God in this world. This was so that God's work of salvation could be perfectly completed. With God's power and strength, He can do all things.

In this era, with the Word of God and the power of the Trinity, along with the unity of the Holy Spirit, God continues His work of salvation after Jesus returns to heaven. This is the age of the Holy Spirit at work. He can flexibly follow God's path of salvation.

In this new era, God sent angels to earth to incarnate as humans. It is hard to believe. Because everyone believes that God is the only one who came to earth and became human. But in this new era, the work of salvation of the Holy Trinity has been done for Chu Thien Thuong, an angel of God, placed from ancient times in His work of salvation, to come to earth and act like a normal human being. When the time comes, God chooses, separates, and leads Thien Thuong into God's work to work for Him. But Thien Thuong is just a creature, an angel, not God like the Second Person Jesus who came to earth to become human. God chose Thien Thuong to continue Jesus' mission, to do three things: the first is to exorcise demons, and the second is to write the word of God, this is the actual Word of God that teaches people in daily life, the third is the laying on of hands to heal the sick. Just like the ancient Jews, they could not believe that Jesus was the Son of God coming to earth to become human. People and the Church today cannot believe that angels came to earth and became humans. But this is a truth from God that will happen in His work of salvation.

And in this era, God will also send angels to earth as humans to collaborate in God's salvation work. When angels come to earth to become humans, it does not at all diminish the salvation work of Jesus, but to only continue the salvation work of Jesus.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

PRAYER TO GOD AT 3.00PM