Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
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. LK 1:26-38
In Scott Hahn’s book “Joy to the World”, he writes about angels being very present as God brings His Son into the world. The angels appear to Zechariah, Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, and many other Old Testament figures. They are God’s messengers, pure Spirits, highly intelligent, and God loves us so much He gave each one of us our own angel to protect us. When is the last time you talked to your guardian angel? When is the last time you asked God for a miracle? They happen every day and God is present everywhere all of the time. We are reminded of this during Christmas. Emmanuel means “God is with us”.
Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” MT 28:20
“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” MT 18:20 *This is important while we cannot receive the Eucharist. He is truly present when we pray together! We can also make spiritual communions and send our Spirit to Him to visit Him in front of the tabernacle or monstrance any time.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” JN 6:35-40
Jesus makes it very clear that He is present with us and He has the power to save us and lift us up on the last day. The key: holiness. What is holiness according to St. Louis de Montfort, deny yourself. Bishop Barron quotes, “I’m most myself not when I resist God, not when I try to become God, but when I surrender to God.” The key: do the Will of God. How do you know if you are doing God’s Will? Bishop Barron says when we see the fruits of the Spirit in our life: joy, love, peace, modesty, chastity, self-control, kindness, goodness, patience, generosity, gentleness, and faithfulness. Did you pray today? Are you in the state of grace? Are you doing your daily tasks? –Fr. Mike Schmitz
God gave us His Son to reconcile us with Him after the Fall of Adam and Eve. The statement I begin with every blog is, “Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.” Why? The center of the message of Christ coming into the world, during His life, and when He dies is to do the Will of the Father. In the Gospel today, Mary says,”Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her.” LK 1:38 Mary’s fiat and our fiat is how we respond to the Father who is trying to act upon us and whether we allow Him to each day with each decision.
God chose Mary to be the instrument to bring His only Son into the world. On the cross, Jesus asks us to bring Mary into our homes (lives) speaking to John. It is only right for us to ask Mary to intercede for us and bring our souls closer to her Son, so we too may enter into God’s glory. In St. Louis de Montfort’s, “Total Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary”, he claims this consecration is the quickest way to holiness. Therefore, as we begin to humble ourselves before God, submit our will to Him like Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we will begin to become holy. “The Divine became human so the human could become Divine.”-St. Athanasius
Allow God into your heart today and bring a little bit of the Christmas spirit into your heart. Fall to your knees and worship Him with all of the angels. Miracles will abound!
Today’s challenge: Give your heart to God by doing His Will. It requires sacrifice and patience, but sacrifice brings joy and peace. He has given us His all, it is only fitting we give our all to Him!
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
Joseph, at this point, is very unaware of what is to come. But he is a very holy man. He will accept the Father’s will when the time comes. And it is coming! I am so excited for the Birth of Jesus!
we all have a reason of being hear like mary, her way was to conceive a child so what is my way.
I think this means that Mary may have been scared but was devoted to God so much that she accepted it. We must be like Mary so faithful to God that we follow him to the end of time.
IN the Scripture passage today, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would have a son named Jesus. She accepted what the angel had told her. We should accept the love and graces God has given to us everyday. God has infinite grace and is wanting to give it to everyone just as long as we accept it. The grace God gives us will help us grow closer to God to get to Heaven.
If you receiving to God will have you receive his gifts of love and grace. You controls your relationship with God. He needs to know that you bare the gifts of God safely.
I think that this is trying to say that we need to be faithful and let God guide us through what’s going on. The angel tells Mary not to be afraid and that she’s found favor with the Lord. She’s guided and her life is completely changed through the Lord, just as he will guide us.
“May it be done to me according to your word.” In today’s gospel, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel telling her that she shall be the mother of Jesus. Mary was scared at first, but then said that she will do anything for God’s favor. She put all her trust in the Lord. I can apply this to my life by trusting that God knows what is right.
This gospel is important because it is the assumption. Mary could have said no and we would have a whole different church history, but she said yes. She conceived Jesus and took care of Him until He died on the cross.
The Angel Gabriel tells Mary to not be afraid. We should also not be afraid when God calls us for something, and let God take care of us.
I think the scripture was saying we are suppose to be servants of God. Mary is saying she is the handmaid of the Lord, she served the whole world and God when she carried Jesus in her whom for nine months. We need to give up our lives and give them to the Lord. This is the right way to live and this will make us happy.
Today’s Gospel is the Annunciation. This is important because this is when Mary found out she was pregnant with Jesus and said yes to the will of God. We need to say yes just like Mary did so we can be filled with holiness and eternal happiness with God.
This gospel taught me that I should trust God and do whatever He has planned out for me. Like Mary did, she trusted God and she bore a son who saved the world. We all need to do the same, we need to follow the path that God has laid out for us and trust God that he will be kind to us and give us a good path to follow.
“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.” Mary says yes to the angel Gabriel. She says yes to God. She says yes to carry Jesus for 9 months. She says yes for her heart to be stabbed with 7 swords. She says yes, to a lot of things. Mary is our mother.
“Be not afraid” We hear those words so many times in scripture, but what does it mean? In this case, the angel tells Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” I think it means that with God, you never have to be afraid. God will always provide.
God calls us out of our daily lives to follow Him who is holy. Should we not follow him, as a sheep follows their shepherd? If we are to refuse this great calling, who are we? Our purpose is to love and to serve the Lord and others. Why, then, do we refuse? Are we that afraid of what we don’t know? Shall we pick up our cross and follow Him or die trying.
What sticks out to me in the scripture is the line “The angel Gabriel was sent from God.” God cared about his people so much that he sent an angel, a pure spirit, down to the dirty, sinful earth. He doesn’t do that every day.
This scripture is about Christmas, and Jesus’ birthday. People often see this day as just a normal day where you get to open gifts. It is the day Jesus is born, and we need to celebrate his birth and not just make it about the less important things.
Trust God, no matter how weird it sounds.
In the passage I think it’s telling us to not be afraid. Mary had no relations with a man but she still accepted having a baby. She also wasn’t afraid of the angel either. She believes and loves the Lord.
If Mary said no our savior would have not been born.
Mary sacrificed much, being a young maiden and a virgin. However, due to the works of God, she was able to give birth to the savior humanity. Her cousin was also able to give birth at an old age. God is truly amazing.
What kind of like surprises me is that Mary had so much faith in god she like wasn’t ever scared. She knew God was always at her side and would help her the whole way through. She didn’t do the human thing and run away. She had so much faith that she was able to do God’s will.
I think what God was trying to say is that we need to believe in him because he can do anythings. If we believe it will happen and if we don’t try to believe it will happen.I think what God was trying to say is that we need to believe in him because he can do anythings. If we believe it will happen and if we don’t try to believe it will happen.
I think this scripture is preparing us for the birth of Jesus, it gives us a joyous advent because we are awaiting the most holy gift, Jesus. It also gives us a feeling of mystery and warmth when Mary says yes to Gabriel.
This shows that with God anything is possible. Elizabeth was called barren and had a child. Mary had no relations but gave birth to Jesus. God can do anything, He doesn’t need our help. We need his.
This scripture is very cool to me because what Mary is told is very crazy but she has faith and she believes and accepts this crazy thing she has just been told. And she said yes and she became the mother of God and our heavenly mother for doing so.
With God anything is possible. God can do anything. We need to trust God because He knows what He’s doing. This gospel also shows us how special Mary is because it tells us that Mary is the mother of God.
In this scripture it shows us how powerful the Holy Spirit is. They came to Mother Mary and asked Her to have Gods only Son. It also shows how obedient Mary was to God and the Holy Spirit. We all should start obeying God like Mary did.
What got me was reached out to me was when it said, “May it be done to me according to your will”. This reached out to me because because when we accept God’s will good will always come.
We need to trust in the Lord. No matter what He says, He will always want the best for us. He loves us so much and wants your relationship with him to grow to get you to Heaven
the scripture is describing how the impossible can be done by the lord and nothing is impossible for him.
This scripture relflection is really showing the acceptance of God. Mary could have said no to God but she didn’t. Mary put her faith into God and trusted him fully. That is the kind of relationship we need to build with God today! If we can trust him it will be easier to see the will of him. To do as what he has planned for us to do in life.
I think this scripture is telling us that nothing is impossible with God. Mary believed in God and she gave birth to our Savior. If she hadn’t said yes, then Heaven wouldn’t have been open and people would be in despair without Him.
Mary was given a huge responsibility, to carry God’s Son. She accepted this announcement from the angel without hesitation because of her love for the Lord. She may have been confused, but she still accepted.
I think the scripture says that out of all the women on the earth Mary was the most holy and she stays holy.
God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Jesus is always present with us and watching over us even if we can not see Him. He died just for us, so we need to do His will, and we will have eternal life in heaven with Him.
In this reading it is telling us to trust in God and do not be afraid for God loves us. If we trust in God and we do as he say we will go to Heaven and live everlasting in his grace.
The lines that mean the most to me is from Gabriel: “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.” This has meaning because I love the the angel Gabriel appears and Mary says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” I love how Mary agrees to be the mother of Jesus.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your Word.” To me, this is really saying one, strong, clear message: do God’s Will. Doing His Will is so crucial to our getting to Heaven. The Will of Father is our purpose. It’s what we’re here for. We’re here to know and love the Father and ultimately, serve Him. It’s so important for us to serve His Will. Let’s all follow Mary’s example and do it according to His Word.
From today’s scripture reflection I felt that we should be like Mary in a way that when Jesus asks us to do something we should. If we are scared to do it we should trust in God. If I were Mary I would freak out because an angel just apeared to me. But God’s love gave her the will to do it.
This scripture is saying that even children in their mother’s womb are still alive. Jesus was even God in Mary’s womb.
We should try our best to be like Mary. She let God’s will be done unto her, giving her a son. We need to do God’s will to get to heaven.
we picked st cards today i instantly picked st Michael because he is my conformation saint.
We need to be like Mary. Mary let God’s will be done unto her. We need to let God’s will be done unto us. We need to do God’s will to get to heaven.
In today’s Gospel we hear about Mary’s fiat, yes, she is the bearer of light, she reflects the glory of her son, she if flawless, she is our model and mother. we need to follow our blessed mother’s example and say yes to God’s call, she knew her responsibility as a child of God, and so must we know that we are also God’s children, and must say yes to his call.
Today’s gospel is a narrative of the Annunciation. The angel greats Mary with great news and then Mary responds with her yes to God. Mary said,”Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” We may not know Gods plan for us yet but when we hear God’s call we must say yes.
The gospel today is telling me that we should not be afraid of God like the Gospel says “Do not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God.” We should always pray to God and not be afraid he does so much for us and we should appreciate it.
God has a plan for each and every one of us, we need to trust in God and his plan like Mary did. Mary was probably very scared when the angel came upon her and told her she was bearing a son in shock, she knew God had his plan for her to bear his son Jesus. Trust in god.
this scripture tells us that anything can be possible. Jesus was born, human and divine. Mary became pregnant without having any relations with a man. For with God, anything will be possible. This was the story of how Jesus, our savior, entered into the world.
I really like Mary’s response to angel Gabriel. It’s very humble. After becoming the Mother of God and one of the biggest parts in God’s plan for salvation she just says that she will do whatever God tells her instead of whatever she wants to do. We should try to be humble like Mary was.
This gospel to me means that Jesus sent an angel to Mary the Mother of God and the angel said “Behold you will conceive a Son and name him Jesus”. Mary didn’t know how to respond to this nor did she know how her husband was going to respond to this. Later Mary accepted it. Jesus could send down an angel to me and the angel may say “Are you following the will of Jesus” and I will respond yes. We the people never know when Jesus is going to come. Always be prepared.
What this is saying to me is that the Lord is coming and we have to be prepared. We should also listen to the Lord like Mary did we have to listen to him and hear our vocations. Also how the Lord can do anything like how he made Elizabeth pregnant in her old age. We have to resist temptation and resist the devil.
“For nothing shall be impossible with God” What does this mean? Think about it. Exactly as it states. Elizabeth, who was called barren in her old age conceived and bore a son. Mary, having no relations with any man, conceived and bore a son. All of the miracles that Jesus performed! God has done all the things humans have deemed impossible. Mary found favor with God. We should strive to do the same.
I think the Lord is telling me to always accept him no matter what and to listen to him through the harshest time because he knows what you’re feeling and how to deal with it, and if we accept great things shall await for us in heaven. Sent by God himself.
I think this Gospel is telling us that we will receive miracles if we believe in God, our Father. I also think it tells us that the Holy Spirit will always guide us in our entire lifetime because of the love of our God.
Today is the day in which the prophecy has begun to be fulfilled and Jesus Christ is about to be born. This is when the Angel Gabriel came down from Heaven and announced to a lowly women in a small town called Nazareth and told this women that she would be the greatest of all women and she would deliver the savior of the universe. He hails this lowly woman who probably would never be known by anyone outside of Nazareth because she was greater than he could ever be, she would deliver the one who would save the entire universe, she would deliver Emmanuel, the Messiah, Jesus Christ himself
This scripture is saying that anything is possible with God. God will be with us forever and his kingdom will have no end. God is the joy of the world and the savior.
This scripture is telling me is to believe in Jesus. When people go to heaven they do not hunger or thirst. When we eat food from the earth we continue to starve. When we believe in Jesus we can get to heaven easier and we can be fulfilled with the food from heaven.
One phrase that stuck out to me was, “and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” Mary did exactly what the Lord had asked even though it was definitely not normal for this to be happening. Mary prayed over what had happened from then on and became a more holier person. The Lord may speak to us in different and unique ways, but we still have to listen and do what is right. Mary was a normal human being just like us, but she still did what she believed.
Christmas day wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Mary. Jesus became the savior we needed for the world all because Mary said, “yes”. Mary was a humble woman and was devoted to God. She was faced with a decision to say “yes” or “no”. She knew that either answer can come with many outcomes. She chose to say “yes” because she believed. She believed that whatever was going to happen would be for the good of the world.
I think this Gospel passage is telling me to not be afraid to do God’s will. I need to be courageous and even if I am a little confused, I should say yes anyways, because i know whatever it is God wants me to do, it will be good. He is just trying to get me to follow Jesus’ footsteps so I can live an eternal life in Heaven with Him.
this is Gospel is the magic. The magic words mary agreed to that brought us our lord savior Jesus Christ.
Mary said yes to being the mother of our Lord jesus Christ. Even though she knew that it would not be an easy journey she said yes to Jesus. So why dont we say yes to Jesus? Because we are scared or maybe because we just dont want to. Why is it that we do not want to say yes to Jesus but we will say yes to doing things of the world. It is because of our fallen human nature, because of this we say yes to the things of the world instead of Jesus. We say yes to these things thinking they will make us happier but in reality they will just make us more depressed. The only way to real happiness is Jesus.
What the gospel really said to me today that the real present we will receive is the gift of Jesus’ birth. That is the important thing that we have to keep in mind.
Mary accepted that she was going to be the mother of God. She accepted what God had sent her. We need to accept what God gives us instead of just throwing it to the side.
This scripture passage is about how Mary saw the angel that told Mary she was going to have Jesus in her womb and this tells us how important out birth is.
Today reading is when Mary says yes to the Angel. I think that this Scripture can help us be more able to say yes to God whenever he asks us to do something that we may not want to do. It can be things like saying yes to going to Mass on Sundays or praying the Rosary. Mary said yes and is teaching us how we can say our very own yes to the Lord
To me this means Jesus is showing us that he is the handmaid of the Lord and that it may be done according to the lord. He will guide me to heaven and I will live with him forever.
I noticed that the first couple sentences are really screaming to notice God’s calls and when you hear his calls you need to listen and act upon what was asked.
I think that this Gospel is telling us that we need to say yes to our “Fiat” moment. Mary was asked to complete one of the greatest tasks in human history at the age of fourteen or fifteen! That is crazy how young she was but that should reveal to us that our time for greatness may be now, or in thirty years. We do not know when it is but we have to be ready to say “Fiat” when the time comes. Mary would have been so scared and nervous because her whole life and future as a Jew was just completely changed and she was just supposed to say yes. That would be very hard and even though our calling may not be as great, it may be very hard as well. If you were called to religious life it would be very hard to say yes to that for most people. No matter what our calling is, be ready to say “FIAT”!!
What stuck out to me was “Allow God into your heart today and bring a little bit of the Christmas spirit into your heart. Fall to your knees and worship Him with all of the angels. Miracles will abound!” and “Be a servant, become a saint!” I think it’s telling you that we all need Christ in our lives and let him guide us down the right path in life. We all need to believe that he is with us always and is by our side through everything we do.
In the reading today Gabriel came to Mary to ask her if she wanted to be the earthly father.
This Scripture reminds me that I need to be more willing to do what God asks of me. I haven’t been looking out for signs or listening for His advice. I don’t listen sometimes because I think what I want to do is best. I need to learn to be more patient and trust in God’s plan.
I think this scripture is trying to tell to establish a relationship with my guardian angel. God gave us our angel for a reason!
jesu is saving us
I think this scripture is about how we have to have faith in the lord. We have to have trust in him, even when times are tough.
What the scripture is telling me today is don’t be afraid when Jesus comes to save us.
This is telling us about the Annunciation. This is when Mary said Fiat to the angel. That means yes. She said yes to bearing the Son of God. This is also saying that everything is possible with the Lord. Mary had a child without any relations with a man and Elizabeth had a baby even though she was called baron.
God chose Mary cause she was born without Original Sin and she has always prayed to God and when the angel Gabriel came down from heaven. The angel put the child Jesus in her womb.
I think the scripture is trying to tell us that we must trust in God and his plan. Also to believe in things that may not be as believable if they are from God. Even though superficial things may seem closer to reality anything is possible in the reality of God.
This reading is helping me visualize what Christmas is all about, and that Christmas is not all about presents. As little kids and still as teenagers we focus on what we are going to get and if they meet a certain trend or not. The word Christmas has the word Christ in it which is a symbol that Christmas is about Jesus! It is great to get presents and be grateful for them, but we need to also remember that it is all about God.
This moment right here must’ve been absolutely insane for Mary. Imagine your just standing outside and all of a sudden, a glowing ball with wings is telling you that you’re are going to birth the son of God. Now, I bet Mary was super nonchalant about it, just your average Tuesday, but if this happened to me, I would’ve thought I was going crazy.
The angel in this is acting like how we should be acting when we are in the present of God. That angel is God’s messenger and we are supposed to do as God asks and wants.
What I think this gospel is telling me is that angels are very important. I feel like us as a society just kind of forget about Angels but they are a huge part in the bible and we need to realize it.
The gospel is saying that God sent a savior to save us.God sent his only son to save us. If we were the last person on Earth, God would still save us.
The Gospel is saying that Mary saying yes is the begging of the real world. Before this everything is out of control and people go against Gods word. Then Jesus comes and the word is fixed.
Today’s scripture has brought out a lot of meaning. A few meanings are that we need to freely give our self and hearts to God by doing his will. God always has a plan we just need to believe he is doing it for a good reason. It requires work. A relationship is not easy and always takes work. It requires sacrifice and patience. Sacrifice can bring good things if you believe it can do so. He had given us all we have needed, it is only fitting we give our full all to Him.