Daily Readings - Mon Apr 09 2018

First Reading - Isaiah 7.10-14; 8.10d

¹⁰And the Lord spoke further to Ahaz, saying¹¹Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, from the depths below, even to the heights above¹²And Ahaz said, "I will not ask, for I will not tempt the Lord.¹³And he said: "Then listen, O house of David. Is it such a small thing for you to trouble men, that you must also trouble my God¹⁴For this reason, the Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel

Chapter 8

¹⁰Undertake a plan, and it will be dissipated! Speak a word, and it will not be done! For God is with us

Second Reading - Hebrews 10.4-10

Hebrews

Chapter 10

⁴For it is impossible for sins to be taken away by the blood of oxen and goats⁵For this reason, as Christ enters into the world, he says: "Sacrifice and oblation, you did not want. But you have fashioned a body for me⁶Holocausts for sin were not pleasing to you⁷Then I said, ‘Behold, I draw near.’ At the head of the book, it has been written of me that I should do your will, O God.⁸In the above, by saying, "Sacrifices, and oblations, and holocausts for sin, you did not want, nor are those things pleasing to you, which are offered according to the law⁹then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,’ " he takes away the first, so that he may establish what follows¹⁰For by this will, we have been sanctified, through the one time oblation of the body of Jesus Christ

Gospel - Luke 1.26-38

Luke

Chapter 1

²⁶Then, in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent by God, to a city of Galilee named Nazareth²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary²⁸And upon entering, the Angel said to her: "Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.²⁹And when she had heard this, she was disturbed by his words, and she considered what kind of greeting this might be³⁰And the Angel said to her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God³¹Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name: JESUS³²He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. And he will reign in the house of Jacob for eternity³³And his kingdom shall have no end.³⁴Then Mary said to the Angel, "How shall this be done, since I do not know man?³⁵And in response, the Angel said to her: "The Holy Spirit will pass over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And because of this also, the Holy One who will be born of you shall be called the Son of God³⁶And behold, your cousin Elizabeth has herself also conceived a son, in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her who is called barren³⁷For no word will be impossible with God.³⁸Then Mary said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word." And the Angel departed from her

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the profound mystery of God’s plan of salvation and the role of faith in our lives. In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear the prophet’s invitation to King Ahaz to ask for a sign, a gesture of trust in God’s providence. Ahaz’s refusal is met with the promise of a greater sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, Emmanuel, “God is with us.” This passage, written centuries before Christ, points to the coming Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s promise to be with his people. The Gospel reading brings us to the moment when this promise is fulfilled. The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of the Most High and reign forever. Mary’s response, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word,” is a model of faith and surrender. She does not understand how this will happen, but she trusts in God’s plan. This moment, the Annunciation, is the hinge of salvation history, where the Word of God becomes flesh in the womb of Mary. The second reading from Hebrews bridges the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing that Christ’s sacrifice is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. The blood of oxen and goats could never take away sin, but the sacrifice of Christ’s body, offered once for all, sanctifies us and makes us holy. This reading reminds us that our faith is rooted in the sacrifice of Christ, who came to do the will of the Father. In our daily lives, these readings call us to trust in God’s plan, even when it seems impossible or unclear. Like Mary, we are invited to surrender to God’s will, knowing that He is always with us. The moral lesson is clear: faith is not about understanding every detail but about trusting in God’s love and providence. Let us ask for the grace to say, like Mary, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” and to live each day with the confidence that God is with us, Emmanuel.