Advent Meditation: The Daily Gospel with Fr. Philippe, O.P.



Today we are reminded of the annunciation made to Zechariah. Zechariah is too concerned with the accomplishment of the Word of God; he is not contemplative enough. Zechariah doubts and in doing so wants to rely on the accomplishment of the promise. We do this so easily. We have such a hard time remaining in the divine light of God's Word. We want to see results right away so we can confirm what we've understood. The results become our security, and we are no longer fully confident in God's Word. And so we lose the grace of contemplation; we withdraw into what is connatural to our human knowledge. This is what Zechariah does. He wants to be sure, certain. he doesn't have a faith that is loving enough. God loves him and wants to make him a contemplative, and so He punishes him. Zechariah becomes mute -- he can no longer argue to reflect on or to analyze what the angel has said. He must fully adhere to the mystery in absolute purity and truth.

And behold what Mary does: "May it be done unto me according to Your Word." It is solely the mystery revealed by the Word of God that gives Mary all her certitude. This is so important for us to understand. The devil always tries to take away our certitude in the Word of God to make us turn toward something that we can discover by ourselves such as results. We must have a faith that is pure enough to go beyond looking for results, a faith pure enough to rely solely on the Word of God: "May it be done unto me according to Your Word."

~ From the Daily Gospel with Fr. Philippe, OP (Priest, Philosophy Professor, Founder of the Community of St. John) compiled by the Sisters of of St. John, 2007
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