3rd Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 18, 2011
Pook 

“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.”

Our Gospel can give us three points to ponder upon today.

1st, life is sacred as it is from God. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, this affirms that there is no such thing as unwanted pregnancy in God 's vocabulary. Every life is created with the will of God. God has always a plan for one's life. And as long as you live, God has a beautiful plan for you.

2nd, though it is at times difficult to understand the reason why we are alive and live with many difficulties, we can appreciate and find meaning in our life only when we are aware of God's grace working in us. Angel Gabriel said it himself that there is nothing impossible with God. No matter how we experience difficulties in our finances, or work, or family, life itself remains to be a grace of God and God will do everything for us to appreciate life. God will make a way.

3rd, a life with God is a life worth living. Mary declared that she accepted the will of God for her to be the mother of Jesus. Mary could have her own plans but she gave priority to God's plan for her. God's ways are not man's ways is true all of the times.

Let me end with a story. 

Alphonsus Liguori was born in 1696. He was educated in the best school of the city, and took a Doctorate in Law at the age of 16. In 1723, he lost the first and only case of his career and feel into deep crisis. Then he heard an interior voice, saying: leave the world, and give yourself to me. Alphonsus eventually became a priest in 1726 and became popular because of his plain and simple  preaching. He once said, the penitents should be treated as souls to be saved rather than as criminals to be punished. He died in 1787 and later was declared a saint of our Catholic Church. Here we can see that in life, man's failure is God's success. A life with God is indeed a life worth living.