1st Joyful Mystery - The Annunciation

THE FIRST JOYFUL MYSTERY OF THE HOLY ROSARY
THE ANNUNCIATION

The call of Mary to become a servant of God seemed to have begun "officially" at the Annunciation, when Angel Gabriel brought to her ears the message of God's favour and invitation to become the Mother of the Son of God. She must have been so stunned to hear such a message and more so, fearful of what these could all mean. Surely, she had no idea how all that the angel had said could be possible and how it will come about. But she sure knew what end awaited her if she had been found with child out of wedlock. What would her parents say? What would Joseph do since the child was not his? How was she going to face the community? How was she going to take on the heavy responsibility of being the MOTHER OF GOD, seemingly too harsh a burden for such a young, innocent, inexperienced and simple girl?

Yet, for such a simple and young girl, her obedience to God's Will, her complete trust in God's Providence and her love for God in refusing Him nothing that He asks for reveals the depth of the intimate relationship she shared with God, a relationship that not many have had in the past two millenniums.

Mary had not understood the fullness of God's plan for her and her Son, not even at the foot of the cross or as she beheld His cold and lifeless body. Till the very end, she never wavered in her faith in the God whom she believed would never fail her. And indeed, God never failed Mary. He took her, body and soul, into heaven, where she sits on her royal throne as Queen of Heaven. Today, we celebrate the Feast of Mary's Queenship.

What is God calling us to, each and every one of us? What are His dreams for us? How does He want us to live our lives, to relate to one another, to reflect the God whom He is in our lives, be it at home or at the work place? And how ready are we to say "yes" to Him, no matter what it is that He is asking of us? If someone was being selfish and caused us to be angry, and if we heard God's invitation to forgive and choose love instead of hatred, how willing are we to say, "Okay, Lord, for You, I will forgive"?

Should we respond in obedience, how pure is our "yes" to Him? Is it conditional, doing it to gain eternal life, to attract attention, or maybe to accumulate good deeds so that next time, God should also not refuse us our requests? The pureness of Mary's obedience to God founds itself in her love for God, which is in turn founded upon a personal relationship with God. Can we be obedient children of our Father, in spite of feeling unsure, unworthy, fearful, etc? Can we imitate Mary in her humble and trusting obedience to God's Will, to respond too, "Be it done unto me according to Thy Will"?

As we pray the first decade of the rosary, keep our thoughts on the first joyful mystery - the Annunciation, letting the scene of this divine call play in our minds with our hearts kept opened to allow the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of Mary, to pour out the graces we need to imitate Mary's obedience in our own response to God's divine call to living His Will in our everyday lives.

22 August 2011, Monday
9.59pm