DON’T JUST BE MERRY, BE LIKE MARY

a personal reflection on today's Gospel Luke 1:26-38 (December 8, 2018)

“Alvin, ganda ng mga posts mo! Christian ka pala?”Di ko alam kung matutuwa ako dun sa part na “…christian ka pala?” :) 
So I just smiled & replied back, “Yup, I’m #Catholic”
“Ohh, I thought you were a christian.”
“Oo nga, christian nga. I am a christian-Catholic”

That conversation with my friend did not end there. Don't get me wrong. I love friendly & reasonable discussions about my #Catholic faith. So, I decided to continue the conversation with my friend. I want to link that discussion with today's feast which is one of the more controversial teachings in the Catholic church. December 8 is the Feast day of The Immaculate Conception.

“How can Mary be sinless?”
“How much time do you have?”, I replied back to my friend.
"Not much. I have to go back to work."
"Ok, let me give it a shot."

We sin because we lack God's grace. There are a lot of ways for us to receive His grace. If you're #Catholic, receive the Sacraments as often as possible to get God's grace. So if we received grace regularly, why do we still sin?

Because we are like the poorly maintained roof of our ancestral house. We leak. We received grace but grace leaks out from us. Thus, we sin regularly because of lack of grace. But I know someone who does not lack grace. Her name is Mary.

She's always been full of grace. From her conception onwards. The angel Gabriel confirms this when he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)

Not partially full. Not probably full. Simply full. 100% full. When you're filled with grace there's no room for sin. There are other ways to explain the Immaculate Conception but my friend had to rush back to work. My friend asked for a part 2 of our discussion & we agreed to set a date.

Friends, this post is not meant to focus on the Immaculate Conception only. More importantly, the Gospel today encourages us to be like Mary. We are called to be saints like her. But how can we be like Mary? We are not sinless like her.

We can be like Mary by doing what she did. WE CAN SAY YES TO GOD.

In Luke 1:38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Beautiful words indeed! Those words can be summarized in two - “YES, LORD". Maybe she did not fully understand the consequence of her “YES” but she agreed in faith. And because of that “YES”, God was able to save us through Jesus Christ! Wow!

This is what today's Gospel is telling us. THAT WHEN WE SAY “YES” TO GOD, AWESOME THINGS HAPPEN! The impossible becomes possible because "nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).

May we be like Mary. May we be always ready to say “YES” to God no matter what it takes.

Have a blessed first Saturday of #Advent2018 ! - Alvin Fabellaalvinfabella@yahoo.com