Inspiration for a Catholic Life
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Link reblogged from Adventuring Afar
“The angel of the Lord appeared to him [Zechariah], standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do no be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before them in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.’ Then Zechariah said to the Lord, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’ And the angel said to him in reply, ‘I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.’”
~Luke 1:11-20
I have to say that I understand what Zechariah must have been feeling. First of all we must remember that Zechariah is a priest of the God of Israel. He entered the “sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense” (Luke 1.9). He probably wasn’t planning to have such a real spiritual experience that day. Zechariah may have been “chosen by lot” (Luke 1.9) for all the priests but God chose him specifically. Zechariah was meant to be there and God was waiting for him.
The appearance of the angel Gabriel probably terrified Zechariah. He was supposed to be in the sanctuary of the Lord by himself. Anyone and anything else being there was out of the ordinary. It would have shocked Zechariah and probably terrified him. The same thing has happened to us. Have you ever walked into your bedroom at night and scared yourself because you thought you saw something? I know I have. The light may have been playing with my eyes, but either way, I scared myself. Zechariah has this same sort of experience except that he isn’t scaring himself and the light isn’t playing tricks with him. The angel Gabriel is really there. Think to yourself for a moment: What would you do if, right now, you walked into a room you believed was empty and saw someone you had never met before standing there looking at you and this person knew your name? Wouldn’t you be terrified too? I would. But the angel (person in this senario) doesn’t just know your name but also the name of your spouse and knows of your deep desire to have a child. Wouldn’t you be scared and about ready to freak out?
The angel then goes on to tell Zechariah the name he will give the child, the name of John. The angel continues to talk, telling Zechariah how important this child is and that this child filled with God’s Spirit, effectively Gabriel is telling Zechariah that his son John will be an instrument of God’s will on earth. Imagine hearing that before you even know for certain that your wife is pregnant, thinking you know for certain that there is no way she could be pregnant because she is barren. Now this would just sound like someone’s dream, something that could never happen.
So then, you are Zechariah. What would you say? Would you question what the angel said? Would you want to know how this is going to happen? Would you believe this? I’m pretty sure I’d answer just like Zechariah: “How do I know to believe you? I’m old, my wife is old and she’s also barren. How is this gonna work?”
Gabriel isn’t even going to answer Zechariah’s questions. He just goes, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, I see His Face. I came to tell you good news and you should be happy. Because of your unbelief of my words, you will be mute until you son is born.” Then Gabriel leaves and Zechariah cannot speak. Then, as Zechariah, you may start to think, “That angel may be right. I mean, he took away my voice.”
So, what do you think? Is Zechariah’s doubt misplaced? If you were Zechariah, would you have doubted Gabriel’s words? What would you have done? -
Quote reblogged from My Crazy Catholic LifeYou have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.
The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.
Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarch, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.
Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.
Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to your Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If He should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow your would begin to seek Him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. ‘Behold, the handmaid of the Lord,’ she says, ‘be it done to me according to your word.from a homily in Praise of the Virgin Mother by Saint Bernard, abbot
from the Office of Readings for December 20th
(via my-crazy-catholic-life)
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Photo reblogged from My Crazy Catholic Life
“As for me, far be it from me to sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you….”
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Link reblogged from My Crazy Catholic Life
Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy’s the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother’s first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.~by William Ross Wallace
