Luke’s gospel story of Mary being chosen by God is one of the most powerful gospel stories we are told. Mary says Yes to God. Mary has the courage to say yes to God, even though she is unsure and scared. Mary chooses good over evil. However, the biggest impact to me in reading this Gospel is Mary’s overriding faith.
Advent is a time of anticipation and joy that our Lord and Savior is coming. It is because Mary says yes to God that God’s only Son comes down to earth to be with us. Mary is the only human being without sin and the Mother of our church, as well as an amazing role model to all of us. The gospel says “Mary was greatly troubled at what the angel said. I am sure Mary was afraid and scared about what she heard from the angel. The Angel said, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” I can’t begin to imagine what went through Mary’s mind. However, despite all of her fear and uncertainty Mary answers: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Recall that at that time, an unmarried pregnant woman would likely be stoned to death. Mary does not hesitate, but says yes to God and trusts in Him.
We know also that Joseph is told by an Angel that he must take Mary as his wife. Can you imagine being in Joseph’s shoes? He married a woman he thought he knew, only to learn he knew less about her than he thought. He could have walked away from her, but instead, he trusts in God and takes Mary as his wife and helps to bring Jesus to us.
Mary and Joseph are proof of God’s love for us and models for our behavior.
Mary the Blessed Mother is not just a phrase, but an essential tenet of our faith. Mary says yes to God and chooses good over evil. She is with us each and every day. We should all reflect for a few minutes on what Mary did. We should all strive to be like Mary and say yes to God even when it is difficult and hard. Let’s face it, we live in a post-Christian world today, so being a Catholic is a challenge. Society has become much more secularized, so living a Christian life is difficult. However, Mary is an example to us all to do as God asks even when it is not easy. As Mary shows us, the reward of saying yes to God is greater than anything we can imagine.
Many of the ills of society can be traced to people turning away from God. We must be strong in our beliefs and be willing to stand up for them. Today, people of faith are constantly being mocked. I pray that we are strong enough to stay true to our faith just as Mary does. Our faith is being challenged in many ways. Will we stand up for the life of the unborn, help the poor and downtrodden, give of ourselves, and be selfless and not selfish?
I often wonder whether Mary knew that her only Son would be tortured and crucified to give us the promise of eternal life. Mary gave her Son to us, which is the ultimate act of love. We are truly blessed to have her as our Mother. My concern is that we spend too little time on the real meaning of Christmas and too much time on the secularization of Christmas. Yes, time with family and presents is important and I don’t mean to suggest that we stop that, but I implore you to find time to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas which is that Jesus our Savior is born. It’s not that important if the Christmas lights are outside your house, that the Christmas dinner, or presents are perfect. Don’t let this Advent season be filled with these distractions but instead bask in the glow of the birth of our Savior. Always remember the role that Mary played in giving us all that we have.
People sometimes ask me why there is so much evil in the world and how can it be possible that God exists. I say it is because we have turned our back on God. Let’s emulate Mary and say yes to God. We can make our little corner of the world a better place.