“The angel came to her and said, ‘Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you.’” (Lk 1:28)

 “The angel came to her and said, ‘Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you.’” (Lk 1:28)

Today’s Passage: Lk 1:26-38

Meditation: Today, as we celebrate the solemnity of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us thank God for this wonderful gift of Mary. Remember that we are celebrating this feast joyously in the midst of our intense preparation of the advent of our Lord. Therefore, this celebration will surely remind us of its connection with the advent; i.e., how we should prepare ourselves for the Christmas. Mary’s preparation for the birth Jesus is indeed self evident from today’s meditation verse.

“The angel came to her and said, ‘Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you.”’ (Lk 1:28) The first one, “Peace be with you,” is the gift God confers on anyone who encounters him or to whom he reveals himself. In the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament we come across many such instances as examples for this graciousness of God; especially the call narratives of the bible. Here Mary is called to be the mother Jesus, the second person of the Trinity.

The second one, “The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you,” may be understood as complementary to the first one. It can be understood as, ‘Peace be with you for the Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you.’ In other words, why Mary is given the gift of peace now, it is only because God is with her and has blessed her abundantly. Our call, like Mary’s call, is of course, a gratuitous gift of God. However, this gratuitous gift can fully be received and experienced only when the receiver is in the state of grace.

Then, can we say that grace is our merit? Certainly not! Grace is purely God’s gift, but in order to receive this grace we have to repent, turn away from all our sins and offences, return, and be united to him. This state of complete union with him is called state of grace. Whenever we are in sin we are away from God and that will make lose grace. Therefore, on this solemnity of our mamma Mary, let us not be robbed of virtues and destroy our preparation for Christmas.

      

Prayer: Lord God, we thank you and praise you for your daily eternal bread. Teach us, O Lord, how to be in the state of grace and be prepared to receive Jesus. Let this season of advent be for us doing good, speaking good, and thinking good, so that we hearts be the best manger for you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen! 

Greetings: God is with you! Have a nice and blissful Monday…