Apr 4: Let It Be With Me According To Your Word

Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Convento di San Marco, Florence, 1430s

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Gospel: Lk 1:26-38

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word (NSRV, Lk 1:38a).”

Father, we believe that every moment is the saving moment, that you challenge us through the Word constantly to say “yes” in your Holy Spirit and accept that your life may grow within us.

Reflecting on the mystery of the Word having been made flesh and having left the Church as the continuing sacrament of his presence in the world, Father, the early Church singled out one moment, out of all saving moments, to speak to us with great significance.

Mary, at a particular moment, said “yes,” in such a way that she consented to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

Father, we recognize that your Word is the only mediator between you and your children on earth. It is only through him that we can accept the gift of your Holy Spirit and grown in your divine life.

Mary agreed to share in that unique mediation by becoming the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Mary is Theotokos, God-bearer to the world.

Father, as we celebrate the solemnity of Mary’s acceptance of her role in salvation history, may we too with her say “yes”, that each in his or her own way may also be Theotokos, God-bearer to the world, by announcing the gospel in everything we say and do and by serving one another.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.