Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is in thanksgiving for 30 blessed years of His Most Holy Grace!
Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Birthdays seem to be a day when people "expect" you to "party up" and go crazy. It's a yearly passage, and in my case, a passage from the so-called "vibrant" twenties into the "responsible" thirties. Hopefully the mistakes of the twenties aren't replayed in the the thirties. Maybe there will be new ones.
A co-worker of mine, at 23 years old, thought that the concept of being 30 was a "scary" thought. Maybe it's not so much for me because of today's reading that I'm reminded of every year. Every year on this "holy day of opportunity", I hear the words spoken to Mary from the Angel Gabriel...
"Do not be afraid..."
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you..."
... and I'm reminded of Mary's response...
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
There is no reason for me to go crazy because there is no passage to fear. I do not fear the thirties or old age because I'm reminded of God's power every day. Take care and God Bless.
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