20 December 2016
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Advent
Denise Levertov’s poem “Annunciation” is a moving meditation on Mary’s submission to the announcement of her destiny to be the Mother of God. In her poem, Levertov suggests, we all have “annunciations” in our lives.
Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?
Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.
Each of us will have moments when the Divine reaches out to us and shows us the way he has destined for us. However, we can still decide whether to follow God’s way or to continue to walk along our own way. Advent is a time to remind us that we will always face two choices: let my will be done or God’s will be done. Mary’s response to the angel’s announcement invites us to ask ourselves whether we would like to continue to assert our disordered self-will or whether we will choose to consent to the Divine will, even if it means we have to wait with anxiety and uncertainty.
Let us reflect on our own moments of “annunciation”. May we learn from Mary in trusting in the Lord’s will for us and to take that brave risk of carrying it out. In prayer, let us speak to God about our feelings of anxiety and fear. And in this same prayer, let us ask for whatever grace we need to be like Mary in our moments of “annunciation”.