Saturday – 3rd Week of Advent A

We hear from the prophet Isaiah in the first reading, who speaks about Ahaz, and then from the Gospel of Luke, our Blessed Mother Mary, and how She is a model to us as regards what real faith looks like.

In the first reading, Isaiah speaks about Ahaz, the king of Israel, who is surrounded by enemy armies that are ready to invade. He and the people of God are terrified. And God, through Isaiah, says to Ahaz, “Ask of Me a sign.” But Ahaz refuses, saying, “I will not ask. I will not tempt the Lord.”

But the Scriptures reveal that this was not some pious humility on the part of Ahaz, but rather a lack of trust in the Lord. And we know this because he preferred to seek the allegiance of Assyria against the enemies that surrounded him, rather than to trust in the Lord’s help.

Now, how often are we presented with situations in which we have to choose whether to place our trust in mere mortal men, or to trust in God? Whether to rely on our own emotions, which very often deceive us, or to listen to the Word of God in prayer. How many times do we wish that somebody would just vanish from our lives—whether at work, school, or politics? But that is us relying on our own human understanding.

Our Blessed Mother teaches us how to place our trust in God, especially when we are in a difficult situation. She was in a difficult situation in the sense that being pregnant while not yet living with her husband presented a scandal in the community. But telling Joseph that She was pregnant, while he knew he had nothing to do with it, was an enormous trial. She knew it would be difficult, and She knew he would doubt.

But what did She say to the Archangel Gabriel? “Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord! Let it be done to Me according to Your word.”

In other words, She was saying: I may have to suffer, but I would rather suffer than pledge a false humility to God.

And God promises that He will help Her, just as He helped Elizabeth, Her cousin, who was considered barren and was already in her sixth month. We are told that the angel explains to our Blessed Mother that God will look after this: “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.”

My dear brothers and sisters, it is not always easy to bow our heads in true humility before God. But He encourages us, and He has always given us proofs of His constant attention and care because He loves us.

Sometimes, if He allows us to go through something difficult in life, it is not because He is cruel or absent, but because He knows it serves for our good. It may be something that purifies us.

Our Blessed Mother did not need purification. She was immaculately conceived. By a singular grace, through the merits of Christ bestowed upon Her beforehand, She was preserved sinless.

We, on the other hand, need to be purified. Our psyche, our souls, and our emotions must be purified before entering the Kingdom of Heaven forever.

So never look upon suffering as cruelty from God. Rather, ask whether it may be His mercy in action—purifying us, preparing us—for the very reason why Jesus came into the world in the first place: to love us and to bring us back to Heaven with Him.

Through the intercession of our dearest and most faithful Blessed Mother, may Almighty God bless you and your family.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.