Gospel: March 25, 2025
March 25, 2025 (Tuesday)
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Psalter: Proper / (White)
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
2nd Reading: Hebrews 10:4-10
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:
“With God nothing is impossible.”
“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” As we repeat this line from Psalm 40 at Mass or in private prayer, we are united with Our Lord and with Our Lady, who were both completely surrendered to God the Father’s will. Each of us, in our own faltering way, reaches out to God and desires to do his will in our lives. Mary is the model disciple, as she said “yes” without reservation to God’s plan made known through the Angel Gabriel. It is a yes, that will bring to birth another yes, already made before time by God’s only-begotten Son, who is to enter our world to heal humanity of its sin. “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” The choice is freely made by Mary; she is no puppet. That’s why she seeks to understand the message of the angel, asking how this can come to pass. She realizes that God can accomplish this wonder in her, since “with God nothing is impossible,” and so she consents wholeheartedly, declaring herself to be God’s humble servant. We ask the intercession of Mary our Mother to strengthen our resolve to do God’s will.
