DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 25, 2009
SOLEMNITY, ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
WEDNESDAY 4TH WEEK OF LENT - YEAR I

ISAIAH 7:10-14; 8:10
The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your
God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz
answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!" Then Isaiah
said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary
people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will
give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us!"

HEBREWS 10:4-10
Brothers and sisters: It is impossible that the blood of bulls and
goats take away sins. For this reason, when Christ came into the
world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body
you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no
delight. Then I said, `As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I
come to do your will, O God.'" First he says, "Sacrifices and
offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor
delighted in." These are offered according to the law. Then he says,
"Behold, I come to do your will." He takes away the first to establish
the second. By this "will," we have been consecrated through the
offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

LUKE 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of
David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly
troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this
might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you
have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be
called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne
of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel
said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be
born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your
relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the
sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be
impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the
Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel
departed from her.

REFLECTION
In his Contemplation of the Incarnation, St. Ignatius of Loyola
envisions the Holy Trinity looking with compassion on humanity and
deciding that the Word shall become incarnate in order to redeem
mankind.

In today's Gospel, God sent the Angel Gabriel to Mary to bring the
good news of the onset of humanity's redemption. When the angel told
Mary that she would conceive a son, she was greatly troubled and asked
him how it could be since she did not have a husband. When the angel
informed her that the power of the Most High will overshadow her and
that the child she will conceive will be the Son of God, all her
anxiety disappeared and, in total trust and obedience to God's will,
Mary gave her unqualified yes.

The "yes" Mary gave in the Annunciation was not just a blind "yes" to
the Angel's message. It was a fully discerned "yes", having taken into
consideration the impossibility, from the human perspective, of a
woman conceiving a child without human intervention. It also took into
consideration the dire consequences under the law and custom of her
people at that time which imposed the penalty of death by stoning a
woman guilty of adultery. In spite of all these concerns, Mary gave
her total "yes" to God, surrendering and entrusting body and soul
completely to God's will.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Elena
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Ester Marcelo
- Coach Boy Afable
- Christy Chin
… for the safety of Johnson Cuiting
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Gloria R. Dy Sun +
- Birthday: Esther A. Vibal
- Birthday: Ramona Chan Young
- In Memoriam (+): Stewart (1961-1993) & Frances Valerie Liao
(1963-1993)
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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