With Hannah, Elizabeth, and Mary all bearing sons, we are reminded in today’s Responsorial Psalm that “the Lord puts to death and gives life.” We remember that everything we have is from Him and sometimes we are asked to bear great crosses in exchange for beautiful blessings. Like Mary, if our interior compass is correctly oriented towards the truth of God’s goodness, we can keep a heavenly view of life’s unpredictable events. We can trust that all of life’s happenings are guiding us into greater communion with and reliance on the Lord.

Fear or reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit. Addiction is a disease of long-suffering. Those of us who have been graced with the gift of sobriety know that “His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him” (Luke 1:50).” The more we come to revere the Lord with a spirit of Marian humility, the more we experience the gift of healing and recovery. Mary refers to herself as a lowly servant and the handmaid of the Lord, titles she earns by doing the will of God perfectly. Let us look to her submissiveness to God’s will as a powerful example of how we’re called to do the same in our own lives.

Reflection Questions

• Do you fully believe that God is good? As Christmas approaches, how can you ask for the grace to better know God’s goodness and love in your life?
• Have you completely surrendered your will and life over to the care of God as Mary does in today’s Gospel reading?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: 1 Samuel 1:24-28
Responsorial Psalm: 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd
Gospel: Luke 1:46-56

Reflection by Allison H.