What if she has said ' No' ?

Do you ever wonder why you did not say 'No' to a decision you made that has led you to the situation you are in right now? May be if you had said no, your life would have turned out differently but whether it would have been better or worse off that you will never know. Accepting the things that happened through you is growing up as things don't happen to us for us to become victims but things happen through us so that we could learn a lesson to achieve our purpose in life. So look back with hindsight to see what lessons you have learned  to share with others.
Today, Christians celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation..... when the Angel Gabriel was sent to a young virgin , called Mary, in Nazareth, to  request her to become the mother of  Jesus (Lk. 1: 26 - 38) It's a very important feast on the Christian Calender. Without the 'Yes' of Mary to God's request to become flesh in her womb, the promise of Salvation would have turned out differently. Mary had a freewill and therefore was free to say 'No or Yes'. She was full of grace so by that grace she fully understood  the implications of saying 'yes' to God. We see the fulfillment of Isaiah's  prophecy and the unfolding of God's plan of redemption in the event leading to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah King. The new era of salvation begins with the miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. ..Life, therefore,  begins with conception and not at birth ... This child to be conceived  in the womb of Mary is the fulfillment of God's promises. He will be "Great, Son of the Most High God"...... and his name shall be called "Jesus", which means "the Lord saves"....... Without her 'yes' Jesus would not have been conceived to be born at Christmas..... And how will Jesus save? ..... death on a cross and so there would have been no Easter.....Can you imagine a life without Christ? .....It is remarkable to note how Mary responded to the word of God delivered by the angel Gabriel.  Her question, "how shall this be, since I have no husband" is not prompted by doubt or skepticism, but rather by wonderment! For the Annunciation is a Mystery of Grace, it's an exclusive work of God, a pure act of Grace on God's part. ..... Mary's  prompt response of 'yes' to the divine message is a model of faith for all believers.
On this feast day commemorating the Archangel Gabriel's announcement of the Incarnation, may we realize and be amazed with the fact that God became a human being like us in all things except sin. ... Imagine the Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth and all that it holds.... but when he really wants something to be done, he does not force his way.... he comes the Mighty, Omniscient one comes, .... to one of his poor, weak creature and asks...... Just as Mary was not under any compulsion to say "yes", God does not force his will upon any of us either .....
May our praying the "Hail Marys" in the Rosary, from this day forth, take on a new meaning in our prayer life. .  May we renew our own commitments to the 'yeses' we have said to God and may His will be done in our lives

Hearing and seeing

Have you heard...................?
We are very eager to hear the latest news... .... what's up?.............. what's going on? Even though we have  24 hours Newsreel yet the ear is not tired of hearing. But what do we do with all that we hear? do we actually remember all that we hear or do we fully understand all that we hear? and do we hear all that we listen to?..........
God has spoken and continues to speak to his children but do we hear Him? The Scriptures, continue to speak to us today even though they have been written thousands of years ago; they are alive. The circumstances for which they were given have not changed, as God continues to call us back to come to him. Jesus came to fulfill the Scriptures to show that they were written about Him but had his death on the Cross made it easier for us to turn to God?
Hear Oh......... the Lord your God is One, you shall love Him with all your might, your heart and your strength.......... You have heard how it is said..... love your neighbour........tooth for a tooth....an eye for an eye.....  but I tell you love your enemies........  pray for those who persecute you.........love one another as I have loved you then the world will know that you are my disciples........listen  all you have ears...........Be holy for I your God I'm Holy....... be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.......come to me all who are heavily burdened and I will give you rest......come back to me with all your heart, long have I waited for your coming home to me........
We have ears but do we hear and understand all these love appeals of the Lord? How true is the prophecy of Isaiah in our generation today? Having eyes but not seeing, ears but not hearing,....for have  we also not closed our eyes, stuffed our ears unless  we see and hear and repent?  really seeing and hearing should lead to change...... to repentance, a broken spirit........
The Holy Spirit as a helper will lead us to the truth, convict  us of wrong doings and give us a true spirit of repentance which brings us to the fountain of mercy...to forgiveness and reconciliation. with the Father through the saving grace of Jesus on the Cross.
The choice is ours, and today is all that we have as we are not sure of tomorrow.