Friday 23 December
23 December O Emmanuel! Gospel - Luke 1:57-66 “His name is John”. All others wanted to call him Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth and Zechariah knew that it is not the name that should be given to the child. Because they received the grace of God, experienced the grace of God and lived the grace of God. So, for them, it is not the relatives that decide but it’s the grace that dictates their decision. It is not anymore, the traditions that lead them but it’s the faith. Elisabeth is speaking up. She has the courage to go against the current because she lived the grace. Zechariah is asking for a writing-tablet. He does not want to go wrong, because he internalized the grace. “His name is John”. Advent is the time to live the grace and make changes against all the pressures on us.
Thursday 22 December
22 December O Rex géntium Gospel - Luke 1:46-56 While the cry of Elizabeth at the encounter with Mother Mary was a cry of liberation, the Magnificat of Mother Mary is the song of a person who is not only liberated but also sees the God’s intervention in our daily life. Mary understands and proclaims how God is intervening in the history of humanity. She is living that experience in her in a profound and unique way. She not only sees the intervention of God in her life but also sees the intervention of God in the life of each person. What Mary says is that life becomes beautiful with God. Everything gets a new perspective. Advent is the time to see the intervention of God in our life along with those in the life of each person.
Wednesday 21 December
21 December O Oriens! Gospel - Luke 1:39-45 “She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry…”. What was that greeting? A greeting that made the child leap and Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the greeting of Mary who was carrying the Word became incarnate. It is the greeting of Mary who entered into a profound dialogue with the Word became incarnate. It is the greeting of Mary who became the handmaid of the Lord. So, again what was that greeting? It was the Word and Presence of God’s intervention in the history of humanity. A greeting which announces the good news. A greeting that takes away the sins, wipes the tears, and embraces human miseries. A greeting that liberates the humanity. This can be seen in the loud cry of Elizabeth. The cry of the liberation of humanity. Advent is the time to be liberated through the message and presence of God in Mother Mary.
Tuesday 20 December
O clavis David Gospel - Luke 1:26-38 The conflict is always between what we want to do and what God asks from us. The question of Mary, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’, shows this. In the answer of angel Gabriel, she, Mother Mary understood the mystery of God’s will. It is about giving the lead of the life to God. It is about abandoning oneself to the Word of God. It’s not anymore, a conflict between what we want to do and what God wants from us. It’s about bowing to the work of the Holy Spirit, and it is to be in the shadow of the power of Most High. It’s about understanding that the possibilities of God begin where the possibilities of man finish. Here conflicts are transformed into conformities. Conformities to the will of God. What God asks from us becomes what we want to do. Advent is a time to make same what God asks from us and what we want to do.