Dec 12 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

 Dec 12 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Reading of the day

A reading from the Book of Zechariah

2:14-17

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!

See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.

Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,

and they shall be his people,

and he will dwell among you,

and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,

and he will again choose Jerusalem.

Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD!

For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke

1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

The words of the Popes

 “Rejoice” says the angel to Mary, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Lk 1:28, 31). (…) What does she do? She responds thus: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). “Let it be ” (“Fiat ”). But in the language in which the Gospel is written, it is not simply “let it be”. The verbal expression indicates a strong desire; it indicates the will that something happen. In other words, Mary does not say: “If it has to happen, let it happen..., if it cannot be otherwise…”. It is not resignation. She does not express a weak and submissive acceptance, but rather she expresses a strong desire, a sincere desire. She is not passive, she is active. She does not defer to God, she cleaves to God. She is a woman in love prepared to serve her Lord completely and immediately. (…) Mary invites us not to postpone, to say “yes”: “Do I have to pray? — Yes” — and I pray. “Do I have to help others? — Yes”. “How shall I do it?”  — I do it. Without putting it off. Every “yes” costs something; every “yes” has its cost, but it still costs less than what that courageous “yes” cost her, that prompt “yes", that “let it be to me according to your word ”, which brought us salvation. (Pope Francis, 20 December 2020)