The Annunciation by James Tissot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>It probably began like any other day.<\/strong><\/p>\nThere were prayers to be said. Chores to do. Bread to bake. Clothes to clean or sew. Water to draw from the well.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t know what the weather was like. Nobody knows if a storm might have persuaded her to stay indoors, or if the sun was so warm she wanted to go outside for a walk.<\/p>\n
But at some point in an otherwise forgettable day in an ordinary town in an overlooked corner of an empire\u2026a Jewish girl we call Mary made history. Nothing after that has ever been quite the same.<\/p>\n
She did it with just a few words.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay it be done to me according to your word.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nPut another way:<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
And here we are, 20 centuries later, remembering this moment, honoring the young woman who is at the center of it, and celebrating God\u2019s extravagant wisdom, generosity and love.<\/p>\n
And we do it because this moment didn\u2019t just happen. This feast we celebrate, the Immaculate Conception, commemorates a great mystery and a miracle: that God so loved the world that not only did he send us his son\u2026but he also gave us Mary.<\/p>\n
He planned for Mary to be his son\u2019s perfect vessel, conceived in her own mother\u2019s womb as sinless and pure, untouched by what happened in Eden.<\/p>\n
That miracle of creation brought us to another miracle of creation \u2014 the Annunciation we just heard in Luke\u2019s Gospel.<\/p>\n
But for a moment, I want to go back to that key phrase at the heart of this Gospel \u2014which is also at the heart of this feast:<\/p>\n
May it be done to me according to your word.<\/em><\/p>\nThis is where everything began. Here is a complete and selfless desire to do the will of God, offered with humility and a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n
I have to ask myself: Could I say anything like that?<\/p>\n
Could any of us say that today?<\/p>\n
Could any of us be so willing to surrender to God so eagerly, so completely, so beautifully?<\/p>\n
In an age when personal freedom is prized above all else, when the culture tells us you don\u2019t have to do anything that is uncomfortable or inconvenient \u2026 this girl named Mary says something most modern people would find altogether shocking.<\/p>\n
To an angel of the Lord, and to the God who created her, she says, \u201cIf you want it, I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her son would later put it another way, in a prayer that is known by every Christian: Thy will be done.<\/p>\n
But Mary\u2019s words carry the added weight of history being written.<\/p>\n
Think of what came about because of that.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem. Egypt. Calvary.<\/p>\n
Easter came about because of these words.<\/p>\n
Our salvation came about because of these words.<\/strong><\/p>\nBecause of that moment, we are here tonight, hearing God\u2019s word proclaimed, receiving the Eucharist, worshipping the Lord in faith and hope and love.<\/p>\n
It all began with that one \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
And yet, this feast of the Immaculate Conception also reminds us it began even before that, when Mary herself<\/em> first began.<\/p>\nWhat a wonder in this season of wonders.<\/p>\n
The life and sacrifice and love of Mary serves as a model for every one of us \u2014 and a bold challenge. Because the beautiful reality is: like her, each of us is called to be a vessel for Christ.<\/p>\n
Each of us is called to bring Jesus into the world. To take him to others. To announce him.<\/p>\n
To sacrifice for him. To surrender for him. To love for him.<\/p>\n
To live our lives in such a way that we can, as Mary did, \u201cproclaim the greatness of the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n
Know this: God had a plan for Mary before she was born \u2014 as he has a plan for every one in this church.<\/p>\n
Shortly before my ordination, Bishop Frank Caggiano put it beautifully. He told my diaconate class: \u201cGod has a dream for you. Your job is to discover what it is and to make that dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
So this night, overwhelmed once again by the humility and trust of Mary\u2014her ability to say, \u201cYes\u201d to what God had planned from the first moment of her immaculate conception\u2014we carry this question in our hearts:<\/p>\n
How can we be more like her?<\/p>\n
What is God asking of us?<\/p>\n
What is God\u2019s dream for us?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat is his dream for you? What particular gift has he given you? What plan does he want you to fulfill?<\/p>\n
How can we make God\u2019s dream for us come true?<\/p>\n
My friends, I would submit that it begins as it did for Mary \u2014 with a response that, on an otherwise ordinary day, changed everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay it be done to me according to your word.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It probably began like any other day. There were prayers to be said. Chores to do. Bread to bake. Clothes to clean or sew. Water to draw from the well. We don\u2019t know what the weather was like. Nobody knows if a storm might have persuaded her to stay indoors, or if the sun was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":293661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[12255,11181],"class_list":["post-293658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homilies","tag-immaculate-conception","tag-mary"],"yoast_head":"\n
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