Tomorrow 25th March, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation: Mary’s yes to God's invitation to be the saviour's mother.
Each of us has annunciation moments in our lives, moments of invitation to step forward with courage and surrender to something happening in and to us.
It is a moment of saying yes to God. Recognising what is happening in us is of God, however daunting or unexpected. In the knowledge that comes, we sense that this is of God and choose to consent.
It may feel as though we are the ones who take a risk. But in fact, it is God who takes the greater risk. God invites us to be part of God’s plan and work in redeeming the world. God also honours us by giving us a critical role and allowing us to say yes or no. In some way, God makes God’s-self dependent on our
generous response.
Just as that act of consent makes space within Mary for God to fill her, this act makes inner space for God to fill us.
Sometimes we hesitate because we need to know if we have what it takes. But when God calls us to something, God will always give us what we need to sustain us in that moment and in the unknown road ahead.
On the eve of this Feast, we ask Mary, our sister, to inspire us to consent to grace. Trust that, like her, when we say yes, the unimaginable can happen because nothing is impossible for God.
What are the annunciation moments of your life? Do you recognise a time when you said yes to God at a critical moment when you knew this was yours to do, even as you could sense that it might be costly? You may find yourself in such a moment right now. What gift or grace do you need
from God to be able to say yes?
