For the final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel presents us with the familiar story of the Annunciation.  This Gospel is read several times throughout the year; after all, the Church is a mother, and a mother loves to tell her children the same good story over and over again.  The danger is we hear the story so often that we start to miss some of the details.  So I want to focus on some of those details, namely, the words of the Archangel Gabriel.

    The first thing Gabriel says is “Rejoice.”  What does it mean to rejoice?  To “renew” something is to make it new again, so to “rejoice” is to “be joyful again.”  To rejoice is to be grateful for the joy in our lives.  This means that we need to be aware of all the blessings, all the graces, all the joys that God gives us each day.  As we recall them, as we express our gratitude to God for them, we are rejoicing.  God first gives us the joy, and then He wants us to give it to ourselves over and over again.  In this way, joy is active and not merely passive.

    The angel addresses Mary as the “so highly favored one.”  It is true that our Blessed Mother was full of grace in a way that none of us ever will be, but each of us are “highly favored” by God.  When I was in college, one of the priests told me, “God know every mistake, every sin you have committed and will commit.  And He could create the universe any way He wants, yet despite all the mistakes we have and will make, despite our sinfulness, God decided that He wanted to create the universe with you in it.”

    Gabriel says to Mary, “The Lord is with you?”  We have to remember, this is before Mary said “Yes” to becoming the Mother of Jesus, so Gabriel is not talking about Jesus in her womb.  God was with Mary always, and He is with us always.  God will never abandon us.  We might do our best to walk away from Him, but God will never walk away from us; the Lord will be with us always.

    Finally the angel says, “Blessed are you among women.”  Mary was most blessed.  Through her Immaculate Conception, God preserved her from all stain of Original Sin.  Mary is blessed in a unique way.  Yet all of us are blessed.  God loves each one of us, and we must live in such a way as to make it evident that we know that we are loved by God.

    If we take the angel’s words to Mary at the Annunciation into our hearts, we will rejoice always.  The joy of the Christ Child will be experienced always in our lives.

    This is my prayer for you this Christmas.  Rejoice in the Lord, most highly favored of God’s children.

        MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!