This December, a series of daily Advent, devotional postings is running from December 1st to December 25th. Journey beside Mary, the Mother of God, as she waits for the birth of Jesus.
STRENGTH
Scripture: “You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shade of the Almighty,” (Psalm 91:1).
Quote of the Day:
The scene of the Annunciation merits consideration for another reason, too: it is not only wholly Christological; it is wholly trinitarian as well…The angel’s initial salutation…brings her the greeting of the ‘Lord,’ Yahweh, the Father…she will give birth to the ‘Son of the Most High’…the Holy Spirit will overshadow her… (Hans Urs Von Balthasar).
Song Suggestions:
“How Can it Be,” by Lauren Daigle
“Holy Spirit,” by Francesca Battistelli
Questions: What are your questions for God? What are you wondering? Are there any contradictions in your life?
MIND
Imagine Mary who has recently been betrothed to Nazareth’s carpenter, Joseph. It is a normal day as Mary sits atop the roof of her parents’ house grinding grain at the stone grain mill. With a wooden peg in hand, she presses against the grain and puts the freshly ground flour in a tightly woven wicker basket.
For a moment, everything is totally silent.
Mary’s hand stills from her work. The sound of Nazarenes going about their daily work has stopped. She does not hear the morning doves and she does not hear the sound of animals in their stables, or travelers passing by the village.
She senses something. Someone. In the silence, she feels as if this someone is calling her name though she does not hear a sound.
Her face feels warm. Her whole body feels warm. Light shines brightly in her vision. Slowly, she lifts her eyes, her lashes fluttering.
Mary drops the wooden peg with a gasp and almost falls backward.
“Hail favored one!” A man steps toward her; a man who is so brightly arrayed in white garments, she can hardly make out any definitive features. “The Lord is with you.”
Mary’s eyes dance around, unsure of where to look. Surely this is a messenger from God! Mary quickly rises and then stumbles to her knees. How is she to act before God’s own heavenly servant?
Favored one. She ponders the strange greeting. It makes her terribly uncomfortable and troubled, but she holds the words of address in her heart and focuses on the angel so that he may say whatever he has come for.
Knowing what Mary is thinking, the angel says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
Mary’s stomach lurches forward in nervous excitement. Her cheeks warm with the awareness that God’s eyes are upon her.
“Behold,” the angel continues smoothly. He speaks as if precious ointment drips from his lips. “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.”
Mary’s muscles tense, her mind attempting to grasp such a declaration.
“And you shall name him Jesus.”
Jesus. Mary thinks. God saves!
“He will be great and will be called the 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.”
Mary’s lips begin to tremble as she ponders the angel’s words. She will conceive a son Who will take the throne of David! The Messiah! But Mary is fully virgin. This is not possible. “How can this be,” she finds the courage to ask, “since I have no relations with a man?”
The angel speaks in a melodious tone that washes over every increment of Mary’s being. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” The angel comes nearer, lowering himself to Mary’s level. “Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
(Scripture inspired by Luke 1:26-35)
HEART
How can this be? Isn’t that a question we all ask?
Go ahead and fill in the blank: How can______________________since___________________?
How can I forgive him since he hurt my child?
How can I speak Your word to them since they might be offended?
How can I follow this vocational path since I have always planned on another?
How can I love Your people since I have social anxiety?
How can I give up sweets since I am addicted?
How can I suffer since I am afraid?
How can I be kind and loving since I am sick and in pain?
Ask the Lord these questions. Ask Him as many as you can think of. What God asks of us is indeed contrary to our world! Reflect on the response that the angel gives to Mary:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
SOUL
Lord God, be with me. Come, Son of the Most High. Overshadow me. Holy Spirit, come upon me.
I ask You, “How can this be?”
I know You hear me and are beside me in my confusion. Under the shelter of Your wings, I take courage. I savor the knowledge that every contradiction is made correct with Your power.
Mother of my Savior, I stand beside you in wonder and I stand beside you in faith.
Mary, teach me how to wait.
5 thoughts on “How Can This Be, Since…?”
Captcrisis, nobody said it did. Certainly not the author of this article, nor I. So what’s your point?
” favoured one” is a very poor translation. The original Greek word kericharitomene, meaning full of God’s grace and alluding to her immaculate conception, is never used of any other mere human.
I know you are trying to make the BVM’s experience more relatable to our own, but you have no doubt inadvertently downgraded her proper dignity as the immaculate Mother of God.
I don’t think having sex, even once, makes a woman any less “immaculate”. Please explain.
Captcrisis, you seem to be conflating the BVM’s perpetual virginity with her Immaculate Conception. They are two quite different things which don’t necessarily go together. There have of course been millions of other lifelong virgins, but only ever one immaculate conception.
And why the scare quotes around “immaculate”? Do you reject or doubt this dogma?
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