Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”

When we choose to accept God into our lives, we welcome the Holy Trinity into our hearts. We say “Yes!” to God the Father’s Divine Plan. We incarnate Christ through our thoughts, words, and works. We allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us to become holier people. When we do this, the Most High overshadows us and when others look upon us they will see God at work. By giving our will over to God like Mary did, we make Him present to others through our acts of charity and mercy. Most importantly, our fiat opens us up to risking ourselves for God and His children. We grow in faith, hope, and love and soon discover that anything is possible when we put our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies into a task for God.

Do we welcome God into our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies on a daily basis? How can we make ourselves more open to God’s Will? Are we willing to attempt the seemingly impossible out of love for God and our neighbors?

O Lord, Holy Spirit come upon us.

Amen.

Thirty-First Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master.

God is constantly inviting us to come to His heavenly banquet. However, it is a constant temptation to decline His invitation because we are too busy or have other priorities in life. But we should never be too busy to come to God when He calls us. No material possessions or person is more important than our Heavenly Lord. We should never choose a lesser good over the greater good of God. We are all called to do God’s Will and accomplish some part of His Divine Plan. We cannot do this if we are consumed by the problems, pleasures, and distractions of the world. We need to make time for God, to go where He needs us to go, and do what He needs us to do. This is why we are here and if we come when He calls us, we will be rewarded with eternal life and a never-ending heavenly banquet.

What is God calling us to accomplish? What temptations in our lives keep us from doing God’s Will? Do we make time for Him or do we make time for the world?

O Lord, give us the grace we need to accept your invitation and make time for you.

Amen.