DATE : 25/3/2021
EVENT : Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent/Annunciation of the Lord
COLOUR: White
READINGS : Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10; Resp. Psalm 39:7-11; Hebrews 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38.
THEME: LET IT BE DONE TO ME AS YOU WILL
Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this Twenty Fifth day of March, in which the Church celebrates the Annunciation of the Lord, I wish to reflect with you on the theme: " Let It Be Done To Me As You Will ". Beloved in Christ, today we celebrate the annunciation of the Lord. This means that following the biological period of gestation, Jesus Christ, whose birth we often celebrate on the 25th of December, was conceived today, following the medical mathematics of calculating pregnancy. However, we know from experience that things don't just happen, people make things to happen. And so the annunciation of Jesus, his birth and his vicarious sacrifice on the cross won't have successfully taken place, if his Mother, Mary had not consistently consented to the will of God all through her life. So, inasmuch as Christ is the focus of today's celebrations, we have lots of lessons to learn and imitate from the personality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, most especially her FIAT (let it be done to me according to thine word).
Beloved, the various readings of today tell us of God's divine plan to bring about the salvation of the world through the birth of a son. But more concretely, the Gospel reading of today, Luke 1:26-38, tells us of the presentation of this divine will to a young virgin whose name was Mary by the angel Gabriel. Now, this plan of God was subject to the acceptance of Mary, who was completely free to either accept or decline it. But, true to her name, Mary, "the exalted one", she willingly chose to cooperate with the will of God. She immediately let go of her womanly aspiration of raising her own family. She immediately paid deaf ears to what the world would say. She immediately made herself a veritable tool in the hand of God the potter. Thus, she understood that our freewill is charred when we fail to align it with the divine will. She knew that God would not force His will on anybody, but wishes that we cooperate with Him to accomplish His purposes for our lives.
Child of God, as we quietly rejoice at the Annunciation of the Lord this Lenten period, let us remember that this solemnity was made possible because of the Fiat of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She sacrificed her own choice, her own will, her preference, her goal and aspiration and consented to the will of God. So dearest, as you live your life, as you make your future plans, as you nurture your goals, ambition and aspiration, remember to subject it to the divine will of God. Do not be steep necked in to doing your will. Be flexible, know when God is telling you to abandon that ambition and to take up another one. Know when God wants you to abandon the ways of pleasure and take the path of suffering and shame. Know when God is calling you to be a veritable tools that He wants to use to change lives and to draw people closer to Himself. The question for each of us is: Are you willing to always say to yourself: let your will oh Lord, and not my will be done at all times, even when it hurts?
Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8).
LET US PRAY : Lord Jesus, help me to be like Mary, who sacrificed herself entirely to carry out the will of God.
The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.
May Almighty God bless you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit .....Amen
@ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪
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