MAY IT BE
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." – Lk. 1:38
When I started discerning my vocation, I was given one word: Rest. I struggled to understand this, and when I understood it, I struggled to accept it. I was asking, “How can I just ‘rest’ and make no effort towards my own vocation?” I realized that it’s not up for me to decide, because it’s God’s choice, and he knows best. However, I was reluctant to make no effort and just go with the flow. Then Mother Mary answered me in today’s gospel: Just be.
“Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto me according to your word.” With these humble words, Mary accepted the Lord Jesus in her womb. The Gospel tells us that Mary was troubled at first, but she listened to the angel. With her response, she embraced her purpose of being: to serve God. Whatever happens to her is His will. Her only Job was to carry out His will. At the moment of her response, Mary let go of her past and stopped worrying about the future – the shame and danger she would face for being pregnant out of wedlock in a Jewish community – and accepted the reality of the present. God chose her to conceive the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, and she must have faith that He will protect her. She only needs to focus on “Being.”
Mother Mary, pray for me. Lord Jesus, help me to focus on “Being” with patience to live in the present, to let go of my ambitions with humility, and to embrace the future God has planned for me with faith. Amen.
Thien Tran
Photo Credit: The Catholic Company