Solemnity of the Annunciation of our Lord Is 7:10-14; 8:10 Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11 Heb 10:4-10 Lk 1:26-38

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer Praying Lent The Daily Reflections

Imagine you are young and in love and just living your life, when suddenly an angel appears to you with the message that you are going to become pregnant with the Savior. Would you agree to do this? I can’t imagine having my world turned upside down by being asked by an ANGEL to give up being a child and have a baby out of wedlock. For that matter, I still do not think that I am fully ready to be a mother with all of the responsibilities, both financially and physically. But here is this young teenage girl that didn’t have a car, a cell phone, a Facebook, or any medical care to help raise Jesus. All she had was her faith and her husband, Joseph, to raise this child while she was still a child herself. Truly, there was a tremendous amount of faith that went with that change.

I think that in general, people do not truly appreciate the sacrifice Mary made to give up her livelihood for a new one. People looked down on her because she was pregnant outside of wedlock. Joseph too gave up his hopes and dreams in order to accept a new lifestyle with the news of Mary’s pregnancy. But because they both were devoted to their faith, they were able to make it through.

We must not be close-minded, and instead should be open to the call of God. While it can be easy to try and plan our lives, that is not how it is supposed to be done. We are supposed to live our lives according to God’s path and be ready to change if God throws a curve ball in our way. 

My all-time favorite poem is by a man named Robert Frost entitled The Road Not Taken. It is a very popular poem, and describes how hard it can be to make choices. But when you make a hard choice that may go against the norm it can really make a big difference. I would highly recommend reading it through this poem today. Let us be mindful that each of us has multiple attributes that make us a special instrument of God to the community of believers in this world.