Cycle B - Year I:

20 December 2020:  Fourth Sunday of Advent(Liturgical Color: Violet; White for Simbang Gabi)

Readings:

First Reading:        2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16

Second Reading:   Romans 16:25-27

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 1:26-38

"Let it be done, according to God's plan!"

It is now the final week of our Advent journey this Sunday, and our last days of "waiting" for the big event that is Christmas.  In all churches where celebration of Holy Mass is allowed, we light the fourth and last candle in the Advent wreath, the candle of love.  The lighting symbolizes  love for life and all creation, love for sinners and saints, love for the poor and the little ones, and especially God's love that redeems and shows us the way to His kingdom.

The Gospel account from St. Luke is about the angel Gabriel's news to Mary that she was chosen by God to bear His Son, our Lord Jesus.

Recall that the Annunciation is the first Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary.  It invites us to reflect on Mary and her anticipation as she waited nine months for the birth of her Son.  Mary is our model of how to prepare to welcome our Savior, by her openness to God's promise, her deep faith, and her willingness to trust and follow God's plan.  And Mary said to angel Gabriel, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, May it be done to me according to your word."   (Lk 1:38)

Now let us reflect that both Mary and Joseph came before the Lord, at different moments, facing the decision to believe in God and trust in His unfathomable plan for humanity.  Their radical "yes" to God's plan brings fulfillment to their lives and enables them to participate by their own free will in the marvelous saving work of God.

In historical perspective, the Incarnation of Jesus will not happen again.  (Although we know and believe that He will come again in glory as Judge and King of all creation in the second coming, but no longer as an Infant Child.)  So in that sense, none of us will ever be asked to do anything quite like Mary and Joseph in their obedience to God's will.

Yet in practical life, everyone of us is called to make a similar act of faith.  Because we, too, stand before God and are asked by our Creator and Redeemer to place our lives in His hands, and to trust in His loving plan for us.

Perhaps, our deep faith in God is really the foundation of the Filipinos' spirit of resiliency in the midst of calamities and trials, like the recent destructive typhoons in some parts of the country.  It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us that gives us the strength to overcome our fears and doubts, and like a trusting child make a leap of faith into the loving arms of our loving Father in heaven.

As we wind up our spiritual preparation for the Lord's coming, let us pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus, the examples of Mary and Joseph in their trust and obedience to God, and the blessing of the Advent Season lead every one of us to respond to God with the obedience of faith, even when sometimes we do not understand immediately God's plan for us.  And like Mary, let us say "Amen" to God's plan in our lives.  Amen

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!