Advent Meditations: Friday 8 December
| Fri Dec 8 |
Ps. 98 | Gen. 3:9-15, 20 | Eph. 1:3-6, 11-12 | Lk. 1:26-38 |
SATURDAY OF ADVENT ONE
- Feast of the Conception by Blessed Anna of the Most-holy Theotokos (East)
- The Commemoration of the Conception of Mary, the Mother of Our Lord (West)
ON THE CHURCH CALENDAR: The lessons today are taken from liturgical lectionaries, East and West, and call to mind that this celebration is especially appropriate at the beginning of Advent, when we recall the two great figures of expectation who prepared for the coming of Christ: John the Baptist and Mary. The readings resound with affirmations of the gracious love of God showered on Mary and on all who believe in her son. On this day, many catholic Christians in the East and the West rejoice at the conception of Mary by her mother Anna and father Joachim. St. Anne through the grace of God bore the one blessed amongst all women who beyond all comprehension conceived the Logos, the one whom we await this Advent season.
MEDITATION – St. Paul is in his letter seeks to remind the people of Ephesus and us today that we are blessed and chosen as God’s own. Our vocation from the beginning of time is to fulfill the purposes of expressing God’s love. This idea that we were chosen before the foundation of the world is difficult for many of us to grasp because we see our lives in the context of the present as it unfolds into the next day, but it is difficult for us to see our existence as an unfolding of God’s plan. Thus, the church applies these lessons especially on this feast day so that we may grasp such an eternal truth. Blessed Mary the mother of our Lord is called and set apart as we all are for God’s purposes. Yet her purposes were most unique and exceptional to be the God bearer to and for the world. The church sets apart this feast day because her role was momentous in the plan of salvation. All of us by the blessing we have been given are to be instruments of that salvation which comes from Christ Jesus. As Paul reminds us we are to bless God and live a Godly life because we are in Christ and share the fruits of his creation and salvation. Blessed Mary is offered by the church today as a woman who was able to live into that grace from the moment of her conception. This may cause some theological skepticism from some but imagine what a life would look like if it was a blessed gift to God in all that was said and done from the very moment one would be conceived? That would be quite a life lived!
PRAYER: Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to heart the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY/DISCIPLINE – The special treat on this day comes from the Moravians and it is called Spritz (gingerbread cookies, loaded with fine, aromatic spices). These are mixed on the vigil, December 7 and shared with friends and family on the 8th (especially with those who are expecting a new family member this season). Or make your favorite gingerbread cookie. Perhaps for this solemnity the family could make a gingerbread house.
Consider meditating on the mystery of this gift from God by praying the Angelus http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Cotidiana/Angelus.html if that is not practical or in line with your spirituality; listen to the wonderful music of Schubert at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y (Latin) or in a contemporary English http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt7c6zl6-dQ
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “By obeying, she became a cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” – St. Irenaeus (From his treatise on Against Heresies III).
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