READINGS FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C) SUNDAY 19TH DECEMBER, 2021
FIRST READING: MICAH 5:1-4
PSALM: 79
SECOND READING: HEBREW 10:5-10
GOSPEL: LUKE 1:39-44
REFLECTION BY FR CORNELIUS NWAOGWUGWU, CM
GOD IS WITH US
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. On this day, we re-echo the mystery of the Incarnation. God is with us. God is near us. He is one with us. God has visited his people. When the Lord visited Samuel, we recall what Nathan said, “Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you”
(2 Samuel 7:3).
This prophetic statement ties in perfectly with Mathew’s account that says, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us!”
(Matthew 1:23).
When the appointed time came, the angel Gabriel visited Virgin Mary and said to her: “Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). This is a great honour to our Blessed Mother other Mary. She shares in this great exchange in which the word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is the mystery of the incarnation.
This stresses the key role of Mary in the work of our salvation. God’s promise is best fulfilled in humble souls like Mary. She trusted in God’s promise. Mary received and welcomed Jesus into her life and gave Him to the world for our salvation. (Luke 1:26-38)
Mary said “Yes” to God’s plan. We need to say a courageous and generous “yes” to God. Mary’s response to God was a true expression of obedience and self-surrender. True obedience comes from a free choice made in the light of what is true and good. Such a self-surrender often requires a great deal of courage because it can involve going against the tide of social expectations. True obedience aims at putting oneself at the service of something or someone that is greater than oneself. Self-surrender helps us to accept what God clearly wants us to do or what He wants to do through us.
The Good News is that God has a plan for each one of us. In many cases, our work for God seems rather ordinary but each ordinary task which we carry out fits into God’s plan in ways that we cannot yet understand. God desires not only the skill of our hands and talents but the love of our hearts.
In line with this teaching, “Our Blessed Mother Mary brought divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child John who became aware of the presence of Christ, and leapt for joy. John was cleansed from original sin and filled with divine grace. Elizabeth also responded and recognized the presence of Jesus. Mary exercised her function as mediatrix between God and man for the first time.”
May God help us to make a wholehearted and totally unconditional “Yes” to God’s plans in our lives. Like our Blessed Mother Mary, may our visits to families through the power of the Holy Spirit bring God’s mercy and salvation to all in need through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Fr. Cornelius Nwaogwugwu, CM