Homily Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord (Lk. 26-38) “Maturity is Not Necessarily About Age”
Homily Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord (Lk. 26-38) “Maturity is Not Necessarily About Age”
Tradition has it that the Blessed Virgin Mary was a girl of 14 or 15 when she was informed that she would be the mother of Jesus. This is hard for me to fathom. I can’t imagine being informed of that news when I was that age. I was still trying to stumble towards adulthood. I was incredibly immature when I was a teenager.
I was reading about the different phases of life recently. We probably think there are three phases of life. The first phase is childhood, the second is adolescence and the third stage of life is adulthood. We are even starting to add a fourth phase which is the time after our teenage years. We might call this young adulthood. This is when people are in their twenties. At this point in life, in the times in which we live, young people are often still living with the parents trying to pay off debts or find a job. Some young people are unemployed and have moved home. Most people this age don’t feel ready to get married or start a family until much later than in the past.
In many cultures and in the culture when the Virgin Mary lived, there were two stages of life. You were either a child or an adult. In cultures that have only these two distinctions usually there is an initiation into adulthood. After that initiation all childishness is to be left behind, most often the young person begins work, gets married and starts a family.
The Blessed Virgin was an incredibly mature teenager. Achieving a sense of maturity may seem hard for modern people. We tend to second guess everything. Mary probably was not plagued by such angst. She had a solid sense of self. Maybe that is what the angel meant when Gabriel said Mary was “full of grace.”
Gabriel was looking at a young girl who was confident and who trusted in the Lord. What a grace it would be to have these qualities. Maybe we make life too complicated. A deep trust in God can make most choices much easier.
Reflection Questions:
- When does one become an adult? In what ways do I feel less than mature?
- Would life be simpler if we just felt there were two stages of life? Could I have made the choice Mary made when I was 14?
Dear Parishioners,
This Sunday we will be starting Holy Week with Palm Sunday. You will notice that our Palm Sunday celebration will be a little simpler this year. We will not have the usual outside processions. We are still not free of COVID 19. The positivity rate is going up once again.
Some parishioners are asking when we can sing, stop wearing masks, etc. The answer, of course, is when it is safe. What good does it do to stop our protocols and then have to put them in place again. There are some things we may stop doing, but there are number of things that will have to stay in force. Mask wearing would be one example.
The virus is an air born infection. Any time we share the same air other people are breathing it is dangerous. Let’s be patient, get more of us vaccinated and pray that things get better soon.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark