What gifts do you see in yourself?

The Annunciation
by Frances Taylor

The first thing I think of on this date is that 9 months from today it will be Christmas! But this is not what we should be reflecting upon. Imagine what it must have been like for Mary. Here she was, a simple girl in a small town, betrothed and getting ready to be married and now she is told that she has been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah. What must have gone through her mind! What will Joseph say? Will he still want to marry her? What does it mean to be a mother to a Savior? Joseph will answer the first two questions, but the rest she will have to learn, as most mothers do, day by day.

God has a plan for each of us as well. His plans are not made known in quite the same kind of grand announcement, but he does tell us. What do you enjoy doing? What gifts do you see in yourself? God doesn't ask us to do or be anything other than what he has prepared us to do. He doesn't ask one who gets an F in science to be a doctor, for example. And since Jesus tells us that he has come to bring us joy, he's not going to lead us to a vocation that will make us miserable. But the one vocation all the baptized have is to bring the message of Jesus to others. We do this by example as well as by word. He has planted the seed of faith in our hearts; all we have to do is live it.

Prayer

Lord, you prepared Mary to be the mother of your Son, you have prepared us by our baptism to spread the word of his saving acts to others. Help us to recognize this call and say yes, just as Mary did. Amen.