God's Word Never Fails

 

 Luke 1:26-38

 The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Within five days we celebrate another Marian Feast, Our Lady of Guadalupe. Millions of pilgrims are gathering outside of Mexico City to visit the basilica dedicated to Mary who appeared to the humble man, Juan Diego, in 1531. Ten years later nine million Mexicans had embraced the Catholic faith and their descendants remain faithful believers to this day.  At this time when the practice of the Faith is suffering woefully, we need the presence of Mary more than ever to bring us to her Son. As Marists, we follow the path of Mary to find her Son. Our Marist motto sums it up in the proverbial nutshell:  "All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus."  God's Word never fails. Let us renew our dedication to her today as we take another step closer to celebrating the birth of her Son.

Bro. Rene

Dear Mary of Guadalupe, help us to give your Son the place of honor in our lives that he deserves. Amen.