“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:2).
Dear brothers and sisters,
“Be it done to me according to your
word” (Luke 1:38).
These words so simple yet so deeply moving point to the angelic announcement of the
first Christmas night: “Do not fear, for I bring you good news, a great joy
for all the people: today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah,
the Lord, has been born,” (Luke 2:10).
In
the Anglican-Roman Catholic Theological Document “Mary, Grace and Hope in
Christ” we are told that, “Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ,
stands before us as an example of faithful obedience, and her 'Be it done to me
according to your word' is the grace-filled response each of us is called to
make to God, both personally and communally, as the Church, the body of
Christ.” It was only through her
willingness to serve God, that once again, we can celebrate the Birth of Jesus,
'who is the Messiah, the Lord.'
Scripture
tells us that “The love of God has been poured into our hearts” (Romans
5:5), and that “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). We do not know how Paul and John came to such
convictions. But I would like to suggest
that perhaps, in their minds, Mary's life was their inspiration. And hopefully, it
will be yours as well.
May
this Christmas Season and the New Year be filled with joy, renewed with hope,
strengthened with the bond of love, and enriched with the peace from on high.
“God loves you and has chosen you as
his own special people. So be gentle,
kind, humble, meek, and patient. Bear
with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has
forgiven you. Love is more important
than anything else. It is what ties
everything completely together. Each one
of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in
peace. So let the peace that comes from
Christ guide your thoughts. And be
grateful.”
(Colossians 3:12-15).
Faithfully,
Fr. Gustavo
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