April 8, 2013 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

[이안드레아]

2013년 4월 8일 금요일 주님 탄생 예고 대축일

제1독서

이사야서.7,10-14; 8,10ㄷ
그 무렵 10 주님께서 아하즈에게 이르셨다. 11 “너는 주 너의 하느님께 너를 위하여 표징을 청하여라. 저 저승 깊은 곳에 있는 것이든, 저 위 높은 곳에 있는 것이든 아무것이나 청하여라.”
12 아하즈가 대답하였다. “저는 청하지 않겠습니다. 그리고 주님을 시험하지 않으렵니다.”
13 그러자 이사야가 말하였다. “다윗 왕실은 잘 들으십시오! 여러분은 사람들을 성가시게 하는 것으로는 부족하여 나의 하느님까지 성가시게 하려 합니까? 14 그러므로 주님께서 몸소 여러분에게 표징을 주실 것입니다. 보십시오, 젊은 여인이 잉태하여 아들을 낳고 그 이름을 임마누엘이라 할 것입니다.”
8,10 하느님께서는 우리와 함께 계시다.

제2독서

히브리서.10,4-10
형제 여러분, 4 황소와 염소의 피가 죄를 없애지 못합니다. 5 그러한 까닭에 그리스도께서는 세상에 오실 때에 이렇게 말씀하셨습니다. “당신께서는 제물과 예물을 원하지 않으시고 오히려 저에게 몸을 마련해 주셨습니다. 6 번제물과 속죄 제물을 당신께서는 기꺼워하지 않으셨습니다. 7 그리하여 제가 아뢰었습니다. ‘보십시오, 하느님! 두루마리에 저에 관하여 기록된 대로 저는 당신의 뜻을 이루러 왔습니다.’”
8 그리스도께서는 먼저 “제물과 예물을”, 또 “번제물과 속죄 제물을 당신께서는 원하지도 기꺼워하지도 않으셨습니다.” 하고 말씀하시는데, 이것들은 율법에 따라 바치는 것입니다. 9 그다음에는 “보십시오, 저는 당신의 뜻을 이루러 왔습니다.” 하고 말씀하십니다. 두 번째 것을 세우시려고 그리스도께서 첫 번째 것을 치우신 것입니다.
10 이 “뜻”에 따라, 예수 그리스도의 몸이 단 한 번 바쳐짐으로써 우리가 거룩하게 되었습니다.

복음

루카.1,26-38
그때에 26 하느님께서는 가브리엘 천사를 갈릴래아 지방 나자렛이라는 고을로 보내시어, 27 다윗 집안의 요셉이라는 사람과 약혼한 처녀를 찾아가게 하셨다. 그 처녀의 이름은 마리아였다.
28 천사가 마리아의 집으로 들어가 말하였다. “은총이 가득한 이여, 기뻐하여라. 주님께서 너와 함께 계시다.” 29 이 말에 마리아는 몹시 놀랐다. 그리고 이 인사말이 무슨 뜻인가 하고 곰곰이 생각하였다.
30 천사가 다시 마리아에게 말하였다. “두려워하지 마라, 마리아야. 너는 하느님의 총애를 받았다. 31 보라, 이제 네가 잉태하여 아들을 낳을 터이니 그 이름을 예수라 하여라. 32 그분께서는 큰 인물이 되시고 지극히 높으신 분의 아드님이라 불리실 것이다. 주 하느님께서 그분의 조상 다윗의 왕좌를 그분께 주시어, 33 그분께서 야곱 집안을 영원히 다스리시리니 그분의 나라는 끝이 없을 것이다.”
34 마리아가 천사에게, “저는 남자를 알지 못하는데, 어떻게 그런 일이 있을 수 있겠습니까?” 하고 말하자, 35 천사가 마리아에게 대답하였다.
“성령께서 너에게 내려오시고 지극히 높으신 분의 힘이 너를 덮을 것이다. 그러므로 태어날 아기는 거룩하신 분, 하느님의 아드님이라고 불릴 것이다. 36 네 친척 엘리사벳을 보아라. 그 늙은 나이에도 아들을 잉태하였다. 아이를 못 낳는 여자라고 불리던 그가 임신한 지 여섯 달이 되었다. 37 하느님께는 불가능한 일이 없다.”
38 마리아가 말하였다. “보십시오, 저는 주님의 종입니다. 말씀하신 대로 저에게 이루어지기를 바랍니다.” 그러자 천사는 마리아에게서 떠나갔다.

Monday, April 8, 2013 Daily Mass Reading

April 8, 2013
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Reading 1

Is 7:10-14; 8:10

The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11

R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Reading 2

Heb 10:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel

Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

http://www.staygreat.com/

The Lord looks down

May it be done to me according
to your word. Luke1:38

In his Spiritual Exercises, Saint
Ignatius has us to imagine God
the God the Father looking
down on the world. Centuries of
sin have changed it beyond all
recognition. Now it is a cruel
world. Men are sold on an auction
block to die for the entertainment
of others. It is a pain-filled world.
The mentally sick walk about aim-
lessly outside of towns. Psalm 14:2-3
portrays it this way: "The Lord
looks down from heaven at man-
kind...They have all gone wrong...
Not one of them does what is
right, not a single one."
It was into this world that he sent
the angel Gabriel to ask Mary
become the mother of Jesus

What role does Mary play in my
spiritual life?

Mother of Christ, Star of the Sea,
pray for the wanderer, pray for
me. Ancient Hymn

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

The feast of the Annunciation is about interruptions. It is about hope.

Renaissance artists depicted the Annunciation in their imaginations, but the prosaic reality cannot have been that this simple Jewish maiden was sitting around in fine clothes waiting for an angelic visitor. She would have been going about the ordinary family chores, perhaps preparing for – or at least thinking of – her forthcoming marriage to an older man who, biblical scholars speculate, was most likely a widower with children by his first wife. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, here is this messenger from God, interrupting her tidy, scripted life.

We rightly celebrate Mary’s “yes” to God, like Abraham’s “yes” two millennia earlier. In doing so it is easy to overlook the fact of the interruption. Our own lives are filled with interruptions – things that happen that change our plans, that make demands or present opportunities we hadn’t imagined or wanted – illness, deaths, visitors, phone calls, rejections, on and on. We imagine our lives as a smooth progression, with interruptions disturbing an ordered life. But it is more likely that our lives really consist as much of our interruptions as they do of a supposed routine. Many, perhaps most, of what we think of as interruptions are instances in which God is helping us refocus. Can we pay attention, as did Mary? Can we say “yes” and go where God leads us?

And hope. Not a rose-colored glasses, power-of-positive-thinking type of optimism. Pregnancy is about real hope, the sense that life has meaning, that new life, with its infinite potential, opens up that meaning again and again. Mary’s accepting of her awkward pregnancy is an expression‎ of that hope, that God is in charge of the universe, that God can be trusted. In fact, God’s trustworthiness is the only real basis for hope that any of us has. Sometimes the age in which we live seems to be without hope. The institutions we trusted – government, banks, church, professionals – have all let us down. Today’s feast is itself, if you will, an interruption that subtly reminds us that God can be trusted. Look what came of Mary’s trust.

http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/

"Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

Do you recognize the favor and blessing which God reveals to everyone who believes in him and who trusts in his word? In the Psalms we pray, "Lord, show me a sign of your favor" (Psalm 86:17). We see a tangible and remarkable sign of God's favor in the annunciation of the Word becoming flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. There is a venerable tradition in many churches of the East and West, dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries, which celebrates in late March or early April the Angel Gabriel's message to Mary that she would miraculously conceive by the Holy Spirit a Son whose name is Jesus, which means "God saves". The dating of the feast of the annunciation is nine months before the date of the birth of Jesus which is celebrated on December 25th.

This good news which the Angel Gabriel brought to Mary is a fulfilment of the promises which God made to his people throughout the Old Covenant - that he would show them his favor and send them a Redeemer. In the Old Covenant God performed many signs and miracles to demonstrate his love and mercy for his people, such as their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and the miraculous crossing of the Red sea on dry land (Psalm 78:43-53). When Ahaz, king of Judah and heir to the throne of David (735 B.C.) was surrounded by forces that threatened to destroy him and his people, God offered him a sign to reassure him that God would not abandon the promise he made to David and his descendants. King Ahaz, however, had lost hope in God and refused to ask for a sign of favor. God, nonetheless, gave a sign to assure his people that he would indeed give them a Savior who would rule with peace and righteousness (Isaiah 7:11ff).

We see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and the unfolding of God's plan of redemption in the events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah King. The new era of salvation begins with the miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. This child to be born is conceived by the gracious action of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, who finds favor with God (Luke 1:28). As Eve was the mother of all humanity doomed to sin, now Mary becomes the mother of the new Adam who will father a new humanity by his grace (Romans 5:12-21). This child to be conceived in her womb is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. He will be “great” and “Son of the Most High” and “King” and his name shall be called “Jesus” (Luke 1:31-32), which means “the Lord saves.” “He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The angel repeats to Mary, the daughter of the house of David, the promise made to King David: "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end" (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:32-33).

How does Mary respond to the word of God delivered by the angel Gabriel? She knows she is hearing something beyond human capability. It will surely take a miracle which surpasses all that God has done previously. Her question, “how shall this be, since I have no husband” is not prompted by doubt or skepticism, but by wonderment! She is a true hearer of the Word and she immediately responds with faith and trust. Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all believers. Mary believed God's promises even when they seemed impossible. She was full of grace because she trusted that what God said was true and would be fulfilled. She was willing and eager to do God's will, even if it seemed difficult or costly. Mary is the “mother of God” because God becomes incarnate when he takes on flesh in her womb. When we pray the Nicene Creed we state our confession of faith in this great mystery: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man”. God gives us grace and he expects us to respond with the same willingness, obedience, and heartfelt trust as Mary did. When God commands he also gives the help, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to his grace or resist and go our own way. Do you believe in God's promises and do you yield to his grace?

"Heavenly Father, you offer us abundant grace, mercy, and forgiveness through your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to live a grace-filled life as Mary did by believing in your promises and by giving you my unqualified 'yes' to your will and plan for my life."

Psalm 40:7-11

7 Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

These are troublesome times in the lands where Christ was born and raised, just as they were in the times of Mary and Joseph. In the midst of the turmoil of the day, an angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary and announced to her that she would be the mother of Jesus, our Savior. We recall that she answered with the famous "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

Two other aspects of the angel's message might be given consideration today: "Do not be afraid, Mary" and "for nothing will be impossible for God." (Luke 1:30, 37) Christ frequently reminded His followers during His public ministry and after His resurrection that they were not to be afraid. It is a reassuring theme for us to remember throughout our lives.

The second theme ties into the first one, that all things are possible with God. Let us recall often that God is in charge of our lives, not us. Let us listen and act on His word.

http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php

We are at the origin of the human existence of the Word of God. The Word became flesh in Mary’s womb. In older times it was thought that the mother contributed nothing but accommodation to the child in her womb. Everything came from the father: the seed was a ‘homunculus’, a tiny human being. Modern biology dispelled that belief. Biologically the parents’ contributions are equal. In other respects of course the mother’s contribution is total.

The Word came to Mary looking for far more than accommodation. He became flesh of her flesh. He was not human before he was conceived in her womb; he was not a divine ‘homunculus’. He took flesh from Mary. That means: our flesh, human nature. Meister Eckhart said, “Whatever God the Father gave to his Only-Begotten Son in human nature, he gave all this to me.” He means: to all of us. The Annunciation is not to Mary alone, but to you and me.

http://www.presentationministries.com/

SHOCKED BACK TO LIFE

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." 뾎uke 1:35

Why would the all-holy God become a human being? (see 2 Cor 5:21) To Muslims and Jews, it seems blasphemous to suggest that the Supreme Being became a tiny human being implanted in the wall of Mary's uterus. Why would the Creator become a creature? "How can this be?" (Lk 1:34)

Jesus' Incarnation should blow our minds. This will result either in confusion or in fear of the Lord. If we accept the Spirit's gift of fear of the Lord, we will begin to have wisdom. We will realize that God is so holy He is beyond our concepts of holiness. We will wisely see that we are so fallen that only the incarnate, crucified, and risen God can save us from our sins against the all-holy One. If we begin to understand that the Incarnation is a mystery, we will be wise enough to worship, obey, and serve Jesus with abandon. We will receive the Incarnate Jesus in Holy Communion as often as possible. We will tell the world about Him. We will never be the same. We will be shocked out of selfishness and into reality.

Prayer: Father, "let it be done to me as You say" (Lk 1:38).

Promise: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and shall name Him Immanuel." 뾋s 7:14

Praise: Alleluia! God has become a human being! For love of us He has died on the cross and been risen from the dead!

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