Saturday, December 20, 2014

Feria for the Saturday


Dear Fathers, Friends in Christ, 

Isaiah 7:10-14
 Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
 Luke 1:26-38





Behold, you will conceive in your womb
 and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

 When the archangel Gabriel came to Mary and gave her this message, certainly she was surprised! God's ways are not our ways. Sometimes they seem impossible. Just look at today's gospel. God's plan to redeem the world through His own Son -- born of a virgin no less -- was beyond anyone's wildest dream.

 Today, God continues to surprise many of us in our own lives. We have our own plans. We have our own time table. Then, just when we think we know exactly how things will unfold, something completely different happens! We may have an unexpected guest, witness a surprise event, or receive a message that turns our world upside down.

 Later, we may look back and see how God worked through something totally unexpected. Surely, Mary looked back years later, remembering how that visit from Gabriel 
 changed her life -- and the world -- completely!

O Mary, Mother of God, 
 you trusted that God knew what He was doing! 
 Help me to also trust God's action in my life, 
 especially when it's unexpected. 
 Grant me the humility to cooperate with Him completely, 
 as you did, trusting in His wisdom and love. 
 Amen.

Father Ed Bakker 
Anglican Catholic Church / Original Province 
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne 
Bendigo 
Australia