On this beautiful feast of the Annunciation, what more inspiring words can be our reflection than “Be it done unto me according to THY WORD.” At the moment of Jesus’ conception, our Blessed Mother started the work of our redemption and became the universal and constant model for each one of us.
Being attentive to God’s plan for us in the NOW moment is what makes us holy, happy, productive, and successful, both here and in eternity. . . AND. . . doesn’t this realization come to us in startling ways at times? Let’s practice living in the now moment this Lent. Our loving God delights in us and loves us to death even when we’re peeling an orange or attending a boring meeting or giving our full attention to someone who is talking with us. Our Lady is our model. We don’t have to be praying before the Blessed Sacrament, delivering a spectacular discourse at work, or even advising someone who thinks we “walk on water.” Pure love shows itself in the tiny, mundane activities of a common ordinary day. Our Lady is our model.
Living in the present can be hard. Our Lady is our model.
I doubt that when she woke up that morning, Our Lady expected to be saluted by an angel, to be told she would be a mother without knowing a man, to be told she was chosen to be the Mother of the Messiah. I also doubt that any of us will be confronted with these manifestations of the Will of God for us. But we can make each moment holy, for ourselves and others, by doing our best in every little action of “our” day. Our Lady is our model.
Photo caption: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – Public domain
