ENTRUSTMENT TO MARY - 03/25/22 (Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord)

Luke 1:26,28,31,38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus.

38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

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Blessed Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord! God speaks of signs in the Scriptures such as the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection on the third day. This is important to understand because the sacrifices of the Old Covenant cannot actually take away the sins of people. It is only through the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross that we can obtain forgiveness of sins and eternal life. It is because of His death on the cross that we have the hope of being raised from our spiritual and physical death. But, how can we obtain mercy and graces from God? He reveals it to us through another sign in the event of the Annunciation of the Lord. 

It is the sign that St. Gabriel spoke of. It was when the Blessed Virgin Mary shall conceive of Jesus who came to save us from our sins. The Church commemorates the announcement of Angel Gabriel to Mary of her mission as the Mother of God, and the Incarnation of the Word in her most pure womb. It was through the "fiat" or the "yes" of Mary to God which made it possible for Jesus to enter into humanity and to give us hope for our salvation. The Blessed Virgin Mary was the handmaid of the Lord who was completely obedient to the will of God. At the same time, God teaches us the importance of always following His will. In order to obtain the gift of salvation, we need to always say "Yes" to Him and be fully obedient to His moral laws. Only a person with a pure heart can see God. The holiness of the Mother of Jesus is seen when the angel called her as "full of grace." The Blessed Virgin Mary did not have any stains of sins unlike us. But, she was able to obey everything that God wills because of her humility and purity. 

One of the greatest means by which we can persevere in our obedience to God is by entrusting ourselves to the Blessed Virgin. In the humility of our Lord Jesus, He entrusted Himself to the mother care of Mary. Our Lord is teaching us that if we want to be more humble, we need to ask help from Mother Mary and seek her intercession. The Blessed Virgin Mary will help us to do one thing, and that is to be servants of Jesus who will abandon ourselves fully to God's desires. She will directly pray to God, and through her powerful intercessions, we will be protected from the temptations of sins. We will also grow in virtues and do what is more pleasing to God. When we have deeper devotion to Mary, Jesus will be pleased, and He will make our hearts pure like the Immaculate heart of our Mother.

Our Lord Jesus is pleased to people who love and honor His beloved Mother and our Mother, Mary. As we celebrate this important event, how can we deepen our devotion to her? During this time where world peace is in danger, let's entrust ourselves to Mary, the Mother of God. Let's pray for world peace, especially between Russia and Ukraine, as we pray the Holy Rosary. And, we can also unite our prayers with the prayer of Pope Francis as he consecrates Russia, Ukraine and all of humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic