Mercy Is Surrender
Today’s Reading
The angel Gabriel was
sent from God to a town of Galilee…
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph…
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph…
and the virgin’s name
was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you…. Do not be afraid….
Behold, you will conceive…and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus….
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you…. Do not be afraid….
Behold, you will conceive…and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus….
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”.
(cf. Luke 1.26-38)
Today’s Reflection
The greatest mercy story of all time begins,
“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee….” Catholic devotion recites this story three
times a day in the prayer known as the Angelus:
“The angel of the Lord announced to Mary…and she conceived by the Holy
Spirit.” God used a human being to show
his mercy to the lost human race.
The Angelus
continues: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Be it done unto me according to
they word.” Mary’s act of mercy was
surrender. We have mercy on others by
surrendering to let Jesus, present in our bodies, express himself to others
with us, in us, and through us. All day
long.
“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among
us,” the Angelus says. The fruit of God’s mercy and Mary’s is the
human presence of God on earth for all time--first in the flesh Jesus took from
Mary; now in all who give their bodies in baptism to be his “flesh for the life
of the world” (John 6.51). By letting Jesus speak and act physically through
us, we “bear fruit,” the fruit of mercy that endures.
--Fr. David M. Knight.
Response
• Ponder what Fr. Knight means by being “flesh for the life of the
world”…
• Think of a situation in which you allowed God to use you as Mary allowed him to use her…
• Think of a situation in which you allowed God to use you as Mary allowed him to use her…
• Remember a situation in your home or workplace where God may be
asking you to make his presence known.
• Find the Angelus Prayer online here and pray it regularly:
https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/Angelus.htm
Advent Prayer
Lord, I have let myself be deceived. In a thousand ways I have shunned your love. Yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord; take me once more into your redeeming embrace. You are the Lord, Emmanuel--God-with-Us.
Lord, I have let myself be deceived. In a thousand ways I have shunned your love. Yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord; take me once more into your redeeming embrace. You are the Lord, Emmanuel--God-with-Us.
Today’s
reflection is excerpted from “A Season of Mercy—Daily Reflections, Practices
and Prayers” by Fr. David M. Knight.
Copyright by Twenty-Third Publications.
Used with permission.
It is good to remember to surrender yourself and let God do work through you. Sometimes I get in the way through stubbornness or fear. We are his hands and feet in this world.
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