THE WORD
Is 7,10-14; 8,10 / Heb 10,4-10/ Lk 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, favored one! 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
IN OTHER WORDS
I remember watching a very intense basketball game. Everybody was really into it. All of a
sudden the players stopped. I remember thinking, “What is going on? Is somebody hurt”? Then I noticed that the players were making the sign of the cross as a church bell was ringing somewhere. I realized that the players were praying the Angelus! I was maybe 10 years old when I saw this and it has made a powerful impression on me. So powerful that more than 20 years have passed but I can still picture it in my mind as if it happened only yesterday.
The Gospel today, in this feast of the Annunciation is prayed in the Angelus. In both the Annunciation and the Angelus the idea of “stopping” is implied. I imagine the Blessed Mother stopping whatever it was she was doing to listen to the announcement of the Angel. When the Angelus is prayed we are supposed to stop also whatever it is that we are doing, even for just a few minutes.
Stopping is very biblical. God stopped. He wanted His people also to stop. It is even included in the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew word for Sabbath taken as a verb means to stop. The Sabbath was a memorial, a praise and a rest rolled into one - a holy “stop”. In the annunciation Mary stopped and heard about the great things that God was about to accomplish through her. In that basketball court 20 years ago the players stopped in the middle of a game…it is as if saying: there is more to life than basketball. By stopping, we get to rest, to listen and to see that which truly matters.
- Fr. Dante Barril, SVD | Rome, Italy
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
