Father Csaba’s reflection on the gospel. 24 December 2017 4th Sunday of Advent
How could I be a good messenger of God like the angel Gabriel ? Lets learn to communicate from the angel !God sends him and he greets the woman who is more blessed than any other woman with sincere, beautiful words, respectfully , then reassures Mary kindly , clearly , understandably explains the purpose of his visit ! Mary does not get angry because of his questions , answers wisely, states her reasons , the angel by mentioning the elderly Elizabeth becoming a mother signals that miracles not only happen with the Blessed Virgin..
The gospel does not mention , that the angel would’ve had to come to Mary again and again! A short dialogue of 5-10 minutes changes the life of Jesus’ mother forever ! I wonder how much do I shout, quarrel with the children, the colleagues ? How successfully do my words find their mark ? Do they achieve the purpose why I said them !?
The angel only speaks seldom ! It would be good to remember the ancient wisdom : it is only worthwhile for one to speak, if the spoken word is more precious than the silence, that I break with my words into a thousand pieces !
With love,
Father Csaba
Photo: The beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin in the garden of the Franciscan monastery in Szécsen.
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1, 26-38
Father Csaba’s reflection on the gospel. 24 December 2017 4th Sunday of Advent