4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the handmaid of the Lord:
let what you have said be done to me. LK 1:38

2 SAMUEL 7:1-5,8-12,14,16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Like David of old, we too may have many plans O Lord but in the end, Your plans prevail. It is always good to let go of what we want and embrace what You desire to give us. What David wanted was good and the prophet Nathan saw it was good but we must be prepared to give up what we believe is good so we can receive from You what is far better.   

In these verses, we see how active God has been in David's life even when he was unaware of it. It is He who is the principal mover in our lives. It is God who acts, God who inspires, God who gives, God who sends, God who abides, God who preserves, all we need to do is to trust and obey You confident that in the end, all will be well.

You O Lord are called the Son of David, You are the shoot of Jesse, You came to establish a Kingdom that will never end but before the triumph and the victory You will receive the punishment that was ours. We will strike You with the rod and put You to death and the justice of God for the sins of all mankind will be served and through You, O Lord, God will redeem His people.

'Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established forever.'

PSALM 88(89):2-5,27,29 ©

I will sing forever of your love, O Lord;

through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts forever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty forever
and set up your throne through all ages.

‘He will say to me: “You are my father,

my God, the rock who saves me.”
I will keep my love for him always;
with him my covenant shall last.’

I will sing forever of your love, O Lord.

ROMANS 16:25-27 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We can never thank God our Father enough for His plan of salvation. Doomed to eternal death the Father's heart full of compassion and tender love for His creatures would not give up on us even when we rejected His Covenant love with us. Embracing the Good News of our salvation and living it in faith moment by moment with the help and grace we receive from the Holy Spirit, is the only way to live a life pleasing to God. 

All our good works are as filthy rages before God and yet You desire that we offer to You and to the Father our broken lives, our sins, as well as our feeble attempts at being holy and perfect for this is pleasing to our Father who is all holy and all perfect. 

We thank You, Lord, for not leaving us orphans when You left us but have made us sons and daughters of Your Father and ours by adoption and You have sent Your Holy Spirit to live in us. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we cannot say that You are Lord. Thank You, Beloved, for emptying Yourself from the moment of Your conception in the womb of the most pure Virgin Mary, until Your death and burial in the tomb. You took on Yourself the punishment and death that was ours and in exchange, You redeemed us and have given us a share in Your glorious resurrection making us co-heirs with You to the Kingdom of Heaven. This was the Father's will and this You have done. Now, may we cooperate fully with the Holy Spirit so that when our pilgrim journey here is done You, along with Mary and Joseph will welcome us home.

LUKE 1:26-38 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

May I never presume that any action I do on my own has any merit but may I always wait in humble submission for Your inspiration, for the movement of the Holy Spirit and the power of God to impel me and send me to do what He commands.

Mary was always in God's presence from the instant of her immaculate conception. She is the fragrant, pure white lily whom the Holy Spirit fashioned according to the heart, mind, and will of Father and Son. She is the Woman clothed with the Sun and on her head is a crown of 12 stars. She is the New Eve, she is the Queen Mother who is seated at Your right hand and You defer to her will. When she asks You give all that she requests and more for You O Lord are flesh of her flesh, Son of God and Son of Mary.

To this pure virgin, the Angel Gabriel was sent with a message from God that would forever change the course of mankind and history. On Mary's fiat heaven and earth waiting in trembling and awe for the salvation of the world stood in the balance of this young girl's response to the will of God. God's highly favored daughter said 'yes' for her there could be no other response but yes because her whole life was 'yes' to all that God desired of her.

Thank you, sweetest, dearest, and best of all mothers for your yes to God that gave us such a glorious Father, Brother, and Helper. Heaven is ours if we only, like you, always say 'yes' to God's will for our lives.

God can take our barren lives and make them fruitful if we let Him. Take my own barrenness, Beloved, and make it something beautiful for God no matter how small it may be. May my response always be modeled on that of Mary's, Your Mother and mine, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’