Fourth Sunday of Advent -- Year B

 "Verbum caro hic factum est."

My Short Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent -- Year B

My Sisters and Brothers:

A few years ago, I had the great blessing of making a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  My experience there was very profound, and it opened my eyes to the stories of the Gospels in ways I had never previously imagined.   During the pilgrimage I visited the city of Nazareth, the town of Bethlehem, the Shepherds field, the town of Cana, the birthplace of John the Baptist in the village of Ein Karem, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, the town of Capernaum, the Mount of the Beatitudes, Jericho, the village of Tabgha (of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes) the Dead Sea, Qumran (of the Dead Sea scrolls), Mount Tabor (of the Transfiguration), many sites in the Holy City of Jerusalem, including the Upper Room, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which includes Calvary and the empty Tomb of Jesus, and the Mount of Olives, including the Garden of Gethsemane, the Dome of the Ascension and the empty Tomb of Mary.  Because I had the opportunity to travel between all those holy places, and to visit specific places mentioned in the Gospels, I was overwhelmed with many spiritual insights on each day of that incredibly wonderful pilgrimage!

For me, the most profound and spiritually uplifting place on that pilgrimage was probably the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.  This very modern church was built between 1954 and 1969, but previously there had been several earlier church structures dating back to at least the 4th century. Over the centuries, political and religious unrest, and the oppression of Christians, led to the complete destruction of some of the earlier churches.  Today, it is possible to see within the walls of the modern Basilica some preserved ruins and walls from those earlier buildings.  But for nearly two thousand years, the focal point of every manifestation of the Basilica has been a very simple and humble cave-like chapel known as the Grotto of the Annunciation.

The chapel, which is believed to have been the actual family home of Mary has been preserved from antiquity; it is located at the lowest level of the modern Basilica.  This is the place where most Christians believe the Angel Gabriel appeared to the her and announced that she had been chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God.  Of significance in the chapel is an altar inscribed with the words “Verbum caro hic factum est,” Latin for “Here on this spot the Word was made flesh!”  I was awestruck, and moved beyond telling, to be able to visit that place, the precise location of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior!  And as if to magnify the blessings and sense of God’s presence during that visit, a Monstrance holding the Holy Eucharist was on that altar; this gave reason for all present to kneel in adoration and praise!  The very Body of Christ was present to us in the exact spot where the Word was made flesh!  Wow!  The experience moved me to tears of joy!

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, this moment in our salvation history is recounted in today’s Gospel (see Luke 1:26-38).   The Angel said: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. 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, for you have found favor with God.”  And with tremendous faith Mary responded “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”

Now, whenever I hear Mary’s response to the proclamations of the Angel Gabriel, so often recalled as we pray the Angelus and the Rosary, or when we read the Gospels, my memories are taken to that visit to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth and my spirits are renewed by the profound sense of God’s presence I had in that very holy place.

Today, as we prepare for the coming celebration of Christmas and the Nativity of our Lord, let us be always grateful and inspired by the example and faith of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Nazareth.  May we like her, say YES to the will of God in our lives, and may we always rejoice because of the presence of Jesus among us, especially as we gather around the altar and we receive the very life of God by our sharing of the Eucharist!   Amen!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy