Advent Meditations: Wednesday 20 December
| Wed Dec 20 |
am: 66, 67 pm 116, 117; ( 11:10–16 |
1 Sam 2:1b–10 | Tit 2:1–10; | Lk 1:26–38 |
Wednesday Advent III
Notes on the Liturgical Feast for Today: – An Ember Day The O Antiphon: O Clavis David – O Key of David
Four times a year, the Church sets aside three days to focus on God through His marvelous creation. These quarterly periods take place around the beginnings of the four natural seasons and are each kept on a successive Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and are known as “Ember Days. Not surprisingly they tend to mirror the dates we would associate with the change of the 4 Seasons. Pope Gelasius in 494 used Ember Saturdays as the day to confer Holy Orders. Apostolic tradition prescribed that ordinations be preceded by fast and prayer (see Acts 13:3), and so it seemed quite reasonable to place ordinations at the end of this fast period. Moreover, this allows the entire community to join in fasting and praying for God’s blessing upon their calling and to share their joy in being called. Lastly, Ember Friday in Advent commemorates the Visitation, the only time in Advent when this is explicitly done. In general, the Ember Days afford us the opportunity to consider: the wondrous cycle of nature and the more wondrous story of our redemption, the splendid differentiation of God’s ordained servants — and lastly, the condition of our own souls.
Biblical Meditation : How could it be that a young girl, unmarried and unknown , become the instrument of salvation history? Today’s Gospel demands some thought on that question.
When asked by Gabriel to bear the “Son of the Most High” in her womb, Mary responds in such a genuinely human way: with a question. She reassured that God makes all things possible, Nonetheless, she did not blindly accept God’s plans; she questioned just as any of us today would, However, unlike many of us she chose to wait patiently for God to bring about his gift of clarity and grace. The Annunciation is not a one-time event. It happens every day we invite Jesus into our very beings and surrender our will and wish as Mary did.
PRAYER: God of the poor and the humble, we thank You today for choosing Mary
as the Mother of Jesus, Your Son. Her faith and willing service opened the way to Your to your coming among us. Grant that we might seek Your will and surrender to Your plans all in the name of the Savior Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord. AMEN
Spiritual Discipline /Activity – Spend some time with your mother or a mother you know well and demonstrate an act of kindness on her behalf. ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: ““If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Mother of God, such a one is a stranger to the Godhead.”
–Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Father and Doctor of the Church
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