"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
Joshua, Chapter 4,
Verse 23-24
23 For the LORD, your God, dried up the waters of the
Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the LORD, your God, had done at the Red Sea, drying
it up in front of us until we crossed over, 24 in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of
the LORD is mighty, and that you may
fear the LORD, your God, forever.”
Often times we are afraid
of shadows but when are eyes are fixed on the promise of God we are filled with
optimism. When Joshua crossed the Jordan he had a representative from each
tribe take up a stone from the river to immortalize the day God stopped the
Jordan and to recall the day Israel received the promise of God. So today I
would like you to reflect what has been the 12 most memorial events for you in
the past year in order to focus ourselves on the light rather than the shadows.
So what are the 12
memorial stones of your life you would like to present to the Lord? Are there some
areas you need help from the Lord in order to be successful?
1.
Emotional: How have I grown in love?
2.
Mental: Have I developed any new paradigms?
3.
Physical: Have I overcome a physical weakness?
4.
Spiritual: Have I developed Holy Fear and walked with
the Lord? Have I developed any new virtues?
5.
Career: Have I progressed in my career or aided someone
in theirs?
6.
Family: Have I had family successes and been open to
new life?
7.
Financial: Have I made progress in stewardship of the
resources that God has given me?
8.
Learning: Has my mind been open to the Lord and new
learning?
9.
Community: Has there been success in areas where I work
with my local community?
10. Church:
Has there been growth in my participation with my parish?
11. Environment:
Have I done my part to be environmentally responsible?
12. Companionship:
Have I listened, been nurturing, and positive?
Remember when you finish
reflecting to thank the Lord for your successes and have a grateful heart.
Feast of the Annunciation[1]
Lent's austerity is interrupted as we solemnly keep a feast in honor of the Annunciation. The feast commemorates the most sublime moment in the history of time, the moment when the Second Divine Person of the most Holy Trinity assumed human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thus it is a feast of our Lord, even as it is of Mary, although the liturgy centers wholly around the Mother of God. — The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
The words “Hail Mary” indicate that profound
veneration for
the Blessed Virgin which was felt by the archangel Gabriel, and which we, in
imitation of his example, ought also to cherish. The words full of grace remind us
that God bestowed upon the
Blessed Virgin greater graces than upon all men and angels together; and that not for
herself alone, but for us also; they therefore encourage us to pray to Mary with
fervor and confidence, that by her powerful intercession she will obtain for us
the graces
necessary for our salvation. “The Lord is with thee” these words express
the peculiar complacency with which God has regarded her, on account of which He wrought in her special miracles
of wisdom, omnipotence, and benignity. Let us rejoice with Mary over these
prerogatives, and implore her to intercede for us, that God may be with us also, to
sustain us by
His almightiness, to govern us by His wisdom, to incite us to all that is good
by the fire of His infinite love. Finally, the words c Blessed art thou among women
are as much as to say:
Thou art the happiest of all women, since thou alone of them all hast no
stain of sin on thee;
thou art chosen to be the
Mother of God; thou shalt conceive Him
by the
Holy Ghost,
and shalt bring Him forth without losing
thy virginity. Thus
it was that the angel saluted the most blessed Virgin, and yet there are men
who are ashamed thus to salute Mary, and to give praise for the graces which God
conferred upon her. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896)
Things to Do
·
This feast is very important in the
defense of the life of unborn children. Even with small children, this is a
good day to begin teaching about the high value God places on human life. He
loved us so much that he became one of us, took on our human nature and became
an innocent, completely dependent infant.
·
This is a Solemnity, so when this
feast falls during the Lenten season, our Lenten penance obligations are
lifted. We should celebrate by some special food or dinner. This feast day
forecasts the blessed event of Christmas, and illustrates how the liturgical
year is an endless circle of days. To celebrate this circle or cycle, serve a
cake, coffee rings, or wreath-shaped cookies, or foods shaped in ring molds for
this feast day. A perfect symbolic food would be an angel food cake for the
archangel Gabriel, baked in a tube pan for the endless circle, decorated with
the frosting highlighted with blue for Mary.
·
A traditional food for this day is
waffles. "Lady Day" or Annunciation, is the only feast of Mary that
Sweden still celebrates since the Lutheran faith became the state religion in
1593. In most of Europe, waffles are a traditional feast day food, but on the
feast of the Annunciation in Sweden this is THE "Waffle Day" (Vaffeldagen),
where waffles are served either for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with lingonberries
or cloudberries.
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