In the Holy Gospel reading for this Sunday we hear through the Evangelist, St. Luke, that the power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow the young Virgin Mary, and that the power of the Most High God will come upon her. This is the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel that Mary would conceive and bear a son, Jesus. As a biblical people we are reminded that it was the same Spirit of the Lord that hovered over the firmament in the first act of creation in the Book of Genesis. And that it was in the power of the Spirit that all creation took place. A creation which God pronounced good.
What is the Spirit of God doing in your life? When you were first born, and then born again in the waters of baptism God also pronounced you to be good! You became His beloved daughter or son, brother or sister to the whole family of God’s Holy People. Sometimes we forget who we are. Maybe we need to become aware of the Spirit who continues to overshadow us, and who continues to renew the face of the earth. Just as Mary became the vessel of the new creation, so God is also asking you to be a bearer of His Son in the world today. This means submitting to the power of the Spirit, and allowing yourself, your inner-self, to be created anew. Can you say to God, “be it done to me according to your word?”
As participants in the new creation of God through the person of Jesus born of the Blessed Virgin Mary we have a special responsibility to care for the weakest and neediest of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Through your immense generosity we have had an overwhelming response to the Blessings for Bastrop and the Angel Tree this year! I thank you on behalf of those who can’t, or will never know that it was you who helped them. May the Lord return your generosity to you many times over!
I look forward to seeing you at the Masses of Christmas. Please remember that we are having two masses at 4 PM. The one in the Church will be the Children’s Mass of Christmas Eve, and the one in the Hall will be a regular Christmas Eve mass. We will also have mass at 6:30 PM and Midnight in the Church, as well as at 10 AM on Christmas morning. May our loving God bless you!
– Fr. Larry
