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"Let is be done according to your Word."  Luke 1:38

During our book study with Fr. Al, he shared something he once heard from someone—a simple yet striking question: What if Mary wasn’t the first person visited by the angels?

I had never considered that possibility before. Yet the more I sit with it, the more depth I find in that bold and intriguing thought. As much as we believe God’s love for humanity inspired creation itself, is it not possible that He reached out even before Mary to enter into the world?

In my Roman Catholic upbringing, I was taught that Mary was conceived without original sin—prepared by God to bear His Son, Jesus. I’m not here to debate that doctrine; it beautifully reflects God’s providence. It makes sense that, in sending His only Son, God would prepare the way with perfection and care.

Still, without having further discussion regarding the mystery of divine preparation, I also see how much of this moment rests in Mary ’s humanity. She was one of us—living through faith and doubt, courage and fear, joy and sorrow, amid the ebb and flow of life. Her “Amen, let it be done unto me according to your word” was not a passive submission, but a response born from her own interior wrestling, reflection, and prayerful discernment.

Viewed in this light, it’s not hard to imagine that perhaps God had reached out before—to hearts that turned away or hesitated. But with Mary, for the first time, someone fully said “yes” without knowing where that “yes” would lead.

And then we see how this question turns toward us. At times, we too may feel God’s quiet invitation knocking at the door of our hearts. Perhaps it comes as a call to help someone, to forgive, to let go of what we have held onto, or to welcome what feels uneasy. We may linger in hesitation, whispering, “Should I do it? Can I?”—and yet, God keeps reaching, keeps waiting.

May God keep us awake to recognize His invitation to enter the world through us.

May God keep us awake to sense His longing to dwell among us.

May God keep us awake to trust His guidance with courage, and to speak our own faithful 

Amen

Fr. James