Lent Day Nineteen - A Ha-boob , A Lady, And a camel

Gospel	Luke 1:26-38 ©

'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

We were lucky today.  Before dawn today a great wind came up and one of the things even seasoned desert travelers fear came up a sandstorm!  My first thought was of Benjamin, I rose and began to dress quickly so I could do something to help the camel that I was in charge of.  I was just getting ready to leave when Uriah, our leader, stopped me and asked where I thought I was going.  I told him that I was going to help Benjamin and find a safe place for him to weather the storm.  Uriah almost died laughing when he heard this.  He said. "You idiot, the camel is happier than you are right now.  If we had to we could load up and march on.  The camel is perfectly adapted to whatever this cursed desert can throw at him.  His hooves are large so he has no trouble walking in the soft sand and his eyes are protected by his eyelashes.  If you go out there, you will take the chance of breathing in the sand into your lungs and perhaps somewhere down the line get an infection.  No, sit and meditate and enjoy this brief respite.  It will be over soon and I will be all over you to get that stinking camel loaded so we can make up the time we are wasting because of this ha-boob, which is a word that means sandstorm."  He walked away still laughing over my ignorance.  It gave me pause though to think about how the camel received everything he could need from God to live in the space allotted to him.  He was perfectly adapted.  

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation when God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young girl named Mary and with her consent, the Savior was sent on His way to become a man and to save us from our sins.  

May Mary, the Mother of God forgive me, but she like the camel is perfectly adapted to her role in the story of salvation.  She, by a favor granted by God, was born without original sin. This was a necessary thing that God did because the mother of God could have no connection with evil, not even the stain of original sin.  So, while we were drawn out of the pit of sin by the work of Jesus, God, drawing on the benefits of the sacrificial death of Jesus beforehand, He caused Mary to be carried over the pit of sin that the rest of us all fell into.  So God saved Mary and was her needed savior. 

While the winds were howling I broke out my Bible and read the account of the Annunciation.  I was struck by one phrase and that was "Hail Mary, full of grace."  The angel did not bring a supply of grace to Mary, he recognized that her soul was filled with it.  When something is filled, you cannot fit in anymore.  The angel Gabriel simply was greeting the woman and saying what was in his view. 

How do we know that Mary was full of grace?  That is simple, she was humble and selfless and immediately took on the work that God had asked her to do. She could have refused without any consequences what-so-ever but she didn't because her whole heart was turned to God and refusing God anything would not be something she would want to do.  She was, like the camel, forgive me gentle mother, adapted to her role.  

Today, I believe her to be physically in heaven and always beside her Son.  I pity those who take little notice of her because they miss the opportunity to receive graces from Jesus through her.  Jesus loves His mother so much that He cannot refuse her anything.  For her part, her eyes are on the hands of her master, her Son, and the spiritual mother of us all. 

The haboob came to an end and Uriah was as good as his word. He was all over us to get the camp struck and us on the move.  I could imagine John Wayne playing his part if this were a movie because one of his favorite sayings in the morning was, "Let's get a move on.  We're burning daylight."  And so I put my back into breaking camp and loading the camels, breakfast will happen at lunchtime today.  Another day which would pass like so many others.  Funny, isn't it?  I now have a greater love for the Blessed Mother because of a camel named Benjamin. 

Thanks...For Nothing!

Brothers and sisters:                                                                 Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, and by him, you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all!  Today is the day many families will gather and continue the traditions that make our families what they are.  Typical disasters will befall us.  Turkeys will tumble on the floor. ovens will burn rolls, bread will fail to rise, and at least one of the children will be in a bad mood.  Some turkeys will be cooked with the plastic bags of giblets and "gravy" still inside the bird.  In man caves, nationwide men will gather and speak knowledgeably about college teams they know nothing about as their eyes and spirits feast on multiple games of football displayed on huge television screens, while they consume nacho chips, cheese, and beer at near world record rates while waiting to be called to dinner.  Then, finally, dinner is served and everyone comes to the table as the perfectly roasted turkey is brought to the table and everyone is served their preferred meat, white, dark, or drumstick.  Before a bite is taken, the founder of the feast leads the assembled in a short prayer of thanksgiving to God for the warmth, food, and companionship of this day. All too soon, the meal ends and the last piece of pumpkin pie finds its way into Uncle George's ample belly and everyone adjourns to the living room as their spirits enter the world of the turkey food coma. 

Today, in the United States we take a moment to look at ourselves and what we have been given by our Almighty Father in heaven.  No matter who we are, no matter how humble of a dwelling we have, God has given us an abundance. Today we take time to thank Him for all he has given to us.  I recommend we also thank God for the things He has NOT given us.  There are gifts we truly would love to have in addition to what we have already. Sometimes these gifts do not seem to come our way no matter how hard we try to acquire them.  If this is the case then we must include on this day of thanksgiving, thanks for the things that God in His wisdom has withheld from us.  God our Father knows us better than we know ourselves.  He loves us more than we could love ourselves in a million years. He truly knows what is best for us.  If we are truly thankful on this day,  then we should thank God for everything.  We should thank Him for what we have, those we love, for our country, for our faith, and for His sending His Son to save us from our sins.  We should also say, "Thank you, Father, for the things that in your wisdom you have withheld from me.  I know you do this out of love for me and your wisdom will assure me of a happy life here on earth and eternity with you in heaven." 

God bless and keep you on this Thanksgiving Day! 

Please do not forget the poor souls in Purgatory on this Thanksgiving day.  Please spend a moment or two in prayer for them.  Pray for your family and friends that might be there, even if they are not, they prayers are not wasted.  Pray especially for the forgotten soul who has been there the longest and has no one to pray for him or her.  Please remember: As they are one day you might be. 

Watch Out What You Pray For

Jesus said to his disciples:"Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Okay, I will admit it.  I have a hard time understanding this bit of scripture.  I, myself, have prayed in the name of Jesus and have not received what I prayed for.  To prove to you how long standing this problem is let me tell you what happened to me in the fourth grade.  We had learned in third grade that the Blessed Mother, Mary, had been assumed into heaven, body, and soul and was with Jesus, in heaven in the flesh.  In the fourth grade, I had the bad luck of being assigned to the classroom of Mrs. R. Reid, one of three lay teachers that taught in the hallowed halls of Saint Joseph and Saint Ann School in the Brighton Park neighborhood, southwest side of Chicago, in the 60's.  I think that Mr. Moreset, the janitor, had more teaching ability in his thumb than Mrs. R. Reid had in her whole body.  For some reason, we did not get along.  She failed to understand that I had no interest in jumping through hoops for her and providing homework for her to grade, especially homework that involved that devil's curse, "The New Math." I was constantly on her "S" list because of her complete lack of understanding.  One time, when she received the news that the math homework assigned the previous day, alas, was not going to make an appearance in her inbox, she smiled a devilish smile at me, and after stationing a snitch to write the name of people who talked while she was gone, she left the classroom.  Whilst she was gone I earnestly prayed for her to be assumed into heaven, just like the Blessed Virgin Mary. I figured it was a double win. She would get to experience the happiness of heaven without having to die and I would be rid of her once and for all and without me having to pray that she be killed by a lightning strike.   I figured if this assumption business worked once, Jesus could do it again and spare me a lot of trouble. Alas, it wasn't to be and to make a long story short, I was the subject of an impromptu parent - teacher conference attended that very morning by my mother, Mrs. Reid, and the beloved principal of our school Sister Victoria.  My prayer had fallen on deaf ears. It was not answered.  Well, I know now that it was actually answered but the answer was, "No."  

Asking things of God is a good thing to do.  We are encouraged to approach God and ask for what we need.  Our wisdom does not approach that of God's wisdom.  God will grant our every request, of that we are guaranteed!  But if this is so, why didn't Mrs. Reid float up to heaven on that lovely winter day so very long ago?  It is because God knew that removing that particular obstacle for me, while it would cure a current craving, it would do no good in the long run. Thus, Mrs. R. Reid stayed with her feet on the ground and bit by agonizing bit Michael learned the joys, as best as he could, of the New Math. My prayer to God, like all prayer, is asking our Father if He loves us.  His answer is always a big, "Yes" even if we interpret the answer received as a big, "No."

We must be alert to watch for the answer to our every prayer. In life, we most likely have received answers to our prayers that we did not recognize as answers to our prayer.  We have to keep in mind that God WILL do for us what is in our best interest. 

On this memorial day weekend, please spend a moment or two thanking God for those who have served in our military, putting themselves in harms way so that we might enjoy the freedoms that we have.