Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary.
Memorial of blessed Omeljan Kovc, a Ukrainian Greek-catholic priest killed in the concentration camp of Majdanek in 1944 for he defended the Jews from persecution.
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Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary.
Memorial of blessed Omeljan Kovc, a Ukrainian Greek-catholic priest killed in the concentration camp of Majdanek in 1944 for he defended the Jews from persecution.
Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Luke 1,26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.' Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.' Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.' And the angel left her.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Through a special memorial, The Church's liturgy wants to remind us of the day on which the angel was sent to Nazareth to announce to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus. The Gospel does not take us to the Jerusalem temple, as for the announcement of the Baptist's birth, but rather to a very modest house and an adolescent, alone, with a very common name: Mary. The angel enters and greets her. Mary was a girl like any other, living an ordinary life in her village. And yet the Lord's gaze had come to rest on her. From her conception she had been chosen to be the mother of our Saviour. From conception, God preserved her, cared for her, so to speak, made her beautiful, purified from all stain, so that she could receive the Lord Jesus. This is why the angel can say: "Hail, full of grace." Yes, Mary is full of God's love. And in this she is the first among us all; that is, she is the one who with the greatest depth knows how to listen to the Word of the Lord. In fact, as soon as she heard the words of the angel, she was perplexed. The angel comforts Mary, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive a son... and [you] will name him Jesus." These words upset her even more, in part because she had not yet gone to live with Joseph. And she says it, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel adds, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." A commotion of thoughts unleashed in Mary's heart. She could say "no" and go on with her quiet life; but she would have thus withdrawn herself from God's horizons. If on the contrary she says "yes," in the best case she would be taken for an unwed mother. Mary, however, relying on the Lord, responds, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." She, the first one to be loved in so great a way by God, is the first to respond to the angel's word with total acceptance. Mary, the first believer, offers us an example of how to be hearers of God's Word. Her obedience is at the root of salvation. That day, in that "yes," our forefathers' disobedience was overturned, and the time of redemption began. Together with Mary let us learn to welcome the Gospel into our heart. We will thus be sharers in the mystery of salvation.
Het gebed is het hart van het leven van de Gemeenschap van Sant’Egidio. Het is haar eerste “werk”. Aan het einde van de dag komt elke Gemeenschap, of die nu klein of groot is, samen bij de Heer om het Woord te beluisteren en zich tot Hem te richten in het gebed. De leerlingen kunnen niet anders dan aan de voeten van Jezus zitten, zoals Maria van Bethanië, om het “betere deel” te kiezen (Lc 10, 42) en van Hem zijn gezindheid te leren (vgl. Fil 2, 5).
Elke keer dat de Gemeenschap zich tot de Heer richt, maakt ze zich die vraag eigen van de anonieme leerling: “Heer, leer ons bidden!” (Lc 11, 1). En Jezus, meester in het gebed, antwoordt: “Wanneer jullie bidden, zeg dan: Abba, Vader”.
Wanneer we bidden, ook in de geslotenheid van ons eigen hart, zijn we nooit alleen of verweesd. Integendeel, we zijn leden van de familie van de Heer. In het gemeenschappelijk gebed wordt naast het mysterie van het kindschap, ook dat van de broederschap en zusterschap duidelijk.
De Gemeenschappen van Sant’Egidio, verspreid over de wereld, verzamelen zich op de verschillende plaatsen die gekozen zijn voor het gebed en brengen de hoop en het verdriet van de “uitgeputte en hulpeloze mensenmenigte” waarover het Evangelie spreekt (Mt 9, 37) bij de Heer. Deze oude menigte omvat de inwoners van onze hedendaagse steden, de armen die zich bevinden in de marge van het leven, en iedereen die wacht om als dagloner te worden aangenomen (vgl. Mt 20).
Het gemeenschappelijk gebed verzamelt de schreeuw, de hoop, het verlangen naar vrede, genezing, zin en redding, die beleefd worden door de mannen en vrouwen van deze wereld. Het gebed is nooit leeg. Het stijgt onophoudelijk op naar de Heer opdat verdriet verandert in vreugde, wanhoop in blijheid, angst in hoop, eenzaamheid in gemeenschap. En het rijk Gods zal spoedig temidden van de mensen komen.
