Oh my goodness! There is no way I can share with you all that is going on in my head and heart today. I wanted to write earlier, but the distractions this morning became a long dragged out desolation all day. It took prayer with my husband, a talk with my mom and my sweet daughter, receiving Jesus at Mass, and a talk with one of the most holy women I know, to get my head back on track.
I can’t write about everything I want to, so we may have to come back and revisit a few themes later. Today’s readings are PACKED FULL!
Here are all my choices:
1. There seems to be a theme of Fire and the Holy Spirit going on. Yesterday’s burning bush, today Mary is overshadowed and filled with the Spirit, and it’s even coming tomorrow in the book of Daniel and a fiery furnace.
2. What kind of sacrifice is God looking for? Burnt offerings or the gift of ourselves? What does that look like in my life?
3. Mary’s fiat and how we are called to say yes too. What does it look like in my life to be ALL IN?
4. And I just love Isaiah’s response to Ahaz in Is. 7:10-14, 8:10. I mean, really. How much can be said about this, “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God?” Oh, man, do I want to sink my teeth into that!
But all of those are for another day. Today, I want to focus on something that I think, is one of the coolest things about being Catholic.
Every year on March 25th, we celebrate the Annunciation of the Lord. What does that mean? It means we take a day to focus on the moment when God became Man and entered into history. We value life from the moment of conception and we are especially aware of the beautiful way that Jesus became man. (See Luke 1:26-38)
I know that many of us get frustrated about how early everyone starts celebrating Christmas, but as a Catholic, we take a moment today to recognize that Christmas is 9 months away! Woo Hoo! I’m not ready to get out the tree and start shopping, but I will focus on the fact that Christmas would not have come without this moment in time. We would not have Jesus without Mary’s yes. Do we realize that God humbled himself, not just in becoming man, but in asking permission from Mary to become man. Woah! (Thank you, Father Bob, for that truth bomb today!)
God had a plan. He prepared this young woman. But she still had a choice. It was not forced upon her. I will be sitting with these words this week. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
I had a moment of clarity, the other day, in focusing on what it truly means to be ALL IN with God. Watch for more of that coming soon. I really need to work this one out. It seems like a big deal to get right. (If you have idea, please share!)
But, for now, I just love being Catholic, for just this type of thing. We are reminded in tiny details, that God works things out way ahead of the big moments. He sees the big picture and my faith helps me remember that by giving me a liturgical calendar that maps out salvation history and all the little details. This isn’t just an ordinary Monday. It’s the Annunciation. It’s a day to celebrate hearing the good news that a baby is on the way. And that, my friends, is awesome news.
“A virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us!” Isaiah 7:14
This song! Being All In means surrendering and this song came to me as I woke up today.
Prayerfully listen to this song and tell me it doesn’t touch you. I can just hear Mary saying these words.
Reflections of a Cute Lil Mom 