Don't Mess With Gabriel !

Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard. 
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John. 
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. 
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. 
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,                to prepare a people fit for the Lord."  Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this?  For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."  And the angel said to him in reply, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, which will be fulfilled at their proper time." Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. 

Zechariah was of the priestly family and as such he was entitled, once in his lifetime, to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem and to polish the huge bunch of grapes cast in gold that adorned the holiest place in the ancient world.  It was a task that would have filled him with awe and reverence and great joy.  The Holy of Holies was where God dwelled and he could be no closer to God than there.  As it happened his work was interrupted by Gabriel who was sent by God to announce to the elder priest that he and his older wife were now to have a child who would be the Elijah, the precursor for the Messiah that everyone was waiting for.  Instead of just saying, "Amen and okey-dokey" he questioned Gabriel, telling him, "Gabe, I am an old man and my wife is past childbearing years..."  Gabriel did not take kindly to his questioning so Zechariah was struck mute until after the child was born.  The angel left, Zechariah finished his work and came out of the Holy of Holies.  The people waiting for him were astonished at how long he was in there.   I guess the rules were, "In and Out." and to be as quick as you could.  They asked him, "Hey Zech, what gives, why did you take so long?"  But of course, he could not answer.  While his fellow priests did not know what happened, they knew it was something unusual, to say the least.  Zechariah, his work finished, went home and found that his wife was indeed now expecting a child.  He must have been astounded at the turn of events in his life but he was still unable to speak.  Don't mess with Gabriel! 

We humans often forget that God is not bound by the barriers of time and space.  He lives in all times and places, past, present, and future all at the same time. For God, those things we would consider impossible remain very possible for God.  As daughters and sons of the God of the universe, we should remember this in our daily life.  We can pray for a miracle if we need one and if this miracle will serve to help us make it to heaven, then it will be granted.  On the other hand, sometimes the miracle is that we receive the grace to accept the will of God as it has been shown to us.  One way or another you will always receive when you ask with a humble heart, but you have to be ready to accept what is given.  Open your heart to the wisdom of God and He will overfill it with the grace to be a faithful son or daughter, worthy of and destined to be a saint in heaven.  That is why we have this time on earth and why our Father will always help in the way that best serves his desire for us which is Heaven.  

As we clean and decorate our houses to receive the Christ Child, we should remember the poor souls in Purgatory.  We can play a big part in their early release.  Say this prayer, the prayer of St. Gertrude the Great for the holy souls.  Jesus promised her that every time this prayer is devoutly recited that one-thousand souls would be released from Purgatory.  Say this prayer today and rescue and make one-thousand eternal friends! 

“Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood   
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen