On this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, we need to remember that the Good News that God is always with us should banish fear and give us hope.
Fr. Brendan Curran, OP shows the progression in the readings for this Sunday: the first reading shows the brokenness of our world; the second shows it's hope in the grace of God; and the Gospel presents the choice: Jesus came on the side of redemption, not condemnation–which side will we choose?
Jesus healed a man who was mute. Many things can make us mute, but we need to be free to speak the truth as we see it, and we need to help free others to speak their truth.
In Deuteronomy we hear, "Do not forget the things your own eyes have seen." We need to remember that today, for we have all seen glimpses of the great things God has done for us in the first words or first steps of a child. It is what we have already see that should give us hope for what is possible in our world.
Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, where Jesus casts out unclean spirits, challenging us to cast out the unclean spirits of our own age.
The Angel Gabriel appeared unto Mary and declared, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" If we had eyes to see, we would know that the Lord is with us as well, every moment of every day.
Zechariah learns that he and Elizabeth are going to have a child in their old age and he doubts the angel Gabriel. Can believe and maintain hope and faith in God even when it seems impossible?
