Luke 1:28
And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
Today is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the day which the church recognizes the birth of Mary, who was immaculately conceived. Many mistake this day for the immaculate conception of Jesus. Because Jesus was pure, he could only come from something just as pure. Now Mary didn't know that she was immaculately conceived, but the angel Gabriel knew and addressed her as such. The gospel reading from today speaks of Mary's heavenly encounter with the angel. "Hail, full of grace!" Mary was troubled by this greeting and in fact questioned it. After Gabriel's explanation, Mary said, "be it done unto me according to your word."
God's messages come to us in various ways, but we live in a cacophonous world. It's too loud and often we can't hear or don't want to receive the messages. Take some time this advent to quietly pray and meditate on what God is calling you to do in the next few days or months ahead. Like Mary, you may not understand it all, but put your trust in God and he'll show you the way!
