Gospel: April 8, 2024
April 8, 2024 (Monday)
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40: 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
1st Reading: Isaiah 7: 10-14; 8: 10
Once again Yahweh addressed Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from Yahweh your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.” But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, I will not put Yahweh to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The Virgin is with child and bears a son and calls his name Immanuel.
Devise a plan and it will be thwarted, make a resolve and it will not stand, for God-is-with-us.
2nd Reading: Isaiah 7: 10-14; 8: 10
And never, will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins. This is why, on entering the world, Christ says: You did not desire sacrifice and offering; you were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said: “Here I am. It was written of me in the scroll. I will do your will, O God.” First he says: Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire nor were you pleased with them—although they were required by the law. Then he says: Here I am to do your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified, once, and for all, by the sacrifice of the body of Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God, to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son; and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob forever; and his reign shall have no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative, Elizabeth, is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”
Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Reflection: “Our God saves.”
The birth of our Savior Jesus Christ was announced to Mary, a woman of simplicity from Nazareth. Mary’s yes to God’s divine plan paved the way for the salvation of humanity and the natural world. The child whom she was to carry in her womb is the Son of God, who also entered creation. It is good to reflect on Mary’s cooperation with God’s plan. Mary’s fiat opened the way for God’s encompassing salvific act. It is a salvation that includes not only human beings but also the natural world. Hence, our Marian devotion should also challenge us to cooperate with God’s salvific plan for humanity and the natural world. We are already in a global climate emergency. Our devotion is also a summons to ecological conversion, challenging us to lead a simpler lifestyle. If we do not change and do not care for our common home, we are heading toward a global climate disaster. May Mary, the Queen of All Creation (cf. LS 241), guide us as we do our part to care for our common home.
