“The angel came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled by his words and wondered in her heart what this salutation could mean.
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 will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “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 holy, and he will be called the Son of God. And behold, your cousin Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Then Mary said, “Behold, I am the hand maid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” After this, the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:26-38
Today is the Annunciation. Praise Be to God! We come today seeking a discerning heart. Mary is a great example of discernment.
Discernment is about questioning to determine God’s Will and then moving on His Will. It is right to pray and ask God for guidance, and clarification when the soul feels moved to do something. But, too many pray and pray and pray and pray some more. Even when the Will of God is clearly shone to the soul, they don’t commit.
Look at Mary’s example in Luke’s Gospel. The Archangel’s greet, “Hail, Full of Grace” was enough to trouble her. Then, the Archangel tells her she, a Virgin, will conceive a son Who will be the Son of the Most High God. Overwhelming. Mary, in the presence of God’s Archangel messenger responded with questions. Her prayer was how can this impossible thing come to be? The Archangel answered and the Blessed Mother responded, “I am the hand maid of the Lord.”
Mary didn’t linger and pray endlesslessly. She asked (discerned) how this could be, got a reply and went all in.
One thing many friends would comment on with Connie and I is that we don’t linger, when God calls, we go. We discern what’s right in His Will but once we together understand His ask, we just do it. Very rarely has this caused us to fall. Most times it’s filled us with such joy that we laugh. A soul doing the Will of God, sees and hears God and is filled with overwhelming joy.
So, next time you feel God calling you to something, discern clarification the go. Do it! God will fill you with a lingering joy. Maybe you’ll even be inclined to sing out as Mary did in her Magnificat. Or as I do in my blogs on The Road of Faith.
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