Week 3 - Saturday

And Mary said, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord: my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has looked upon His handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed." (Luke 1:46)

Reflection

Mary says that she is lowly, and also that all will call her blessed. How can both of these things be true? Mary's lowliness was transformed by her faith in God's promise as given to her by the angel. Through this faith she became the most exalted of God's servants. Do we let God work with and transform our lives? Or, do we use our own "lowliness" as an excuse for inaction? Christmas is a beautiful time for re-inviting God into our lives and letting His power transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Advent Action

Make a "mini-retreat" to prepare for Christmas. Read the first and second chapters of Luke's Gospel and spend some time reflecting on the story of Jesus' birth and early life.

Heaven was not empty

by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

When we say that God became man, we do not mean to say that heaven was empty. That would be to think of heaven as a kind of a space, like a room that was twenty by thirty feet. When God came to this world, he did not leave heaven empty. When he came to this world, he was not shaved down, whittled down to human proportions. Rather, Christ was the life of God dwelling in human flesh. St. Thomas Aquinas includes a very beautiful description of this in one of his hymns. He said, "The heavenly Word proceeding forth, yet leaving not the Father's side."

Source: Through the Year With Archbishop Fulton Sheen. IgnatiusInsight.com

Gospel: Mary's "Magnificat" (Luke)

Malankara World Journal Issue 111

Malankara World Supplement on St. Mary

Prayer