Deacon Stu Dobson’s Reflection-3-25-22
4th Friday in Lent, The Annunciation of the Lord
Is 7:10-14; 8:10, Ps 40:7-11, Heb 10:4-10, Lk 1:26-38
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” We hear these words near the beginning of Advent as we awaited the coming of the Lord at Christmas. But now, we hear them again during Lent as we await the death and resurrection of the Lord. The Church puts this Solemnity during Lent to remind us of the full story of Jesus. Beginning with the prophecy in Isaiah: “The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” It is a perfect reminder to us that God is truly with us, before time began, present with us here now and will be for eternity.
Without Mary’s yes, our salvation would be non–existent. We would be still running around wondering if there was any hope. “Where is God?” We would be saying. “Why isn’t he here?” We would be thinking. Yet, in God’s infinite love for us, He chose to send His Son to earth, to become man, and then die for us. It was all part of the plan laid out from the beginning when we first turned our backs to God. I cannot think of a better time, smack dab in the middle of Lent, to remind us of Jesus’ immaculate conception. The incarnation of Jesus is one of the wonderful mysteries of God we can contemplate forever. But the fact remains, Mary said yes, He came, and we were saved.
Thank you, Mary, for saying yes, for going through all the things Jesus went through, and being with Him as He died on the cross. It gives us hope, and it gives us love. Let us meditate on Mary’s yes today, and marvel at how good God is to us.
Saint James Catholic Church 