In Luke 1:26-38, the angel Gabriel is sent to a virgin named Mary. The angel announces to her that she will conceive and bear a son. Hearing this, her heart is troubled, and Gabriel reassures her, “Do not be afraid, Mary.”
The phrase “Do not be afraid” appears many times in the scriptures. We hear this gospel on December 8 to celebrate the Immaculate Conception. We proclaim the same gospel on December 12, when we remember Our Lady of Guadalupe. These feasts of Mary open us in the Advent season to a deeper assurance of God’s presence, no matter what we face in life, no matter how afraid we are to change.
There is so much fear within each of us, crippling us in letting go of our preconceived notions about ourselves, our lives, and how we live. Fear deepens when we are threatened, when we face the end of a relationship, a job loss, health changes, or reaching a particular time in life. Our hearts may be doused in fear on any given day or moment, fear roused by the outcomes of our decisions and our life patterns, when we feel we are not living up to our own standards in our work or when we know we have not paid attention to our children or our spouse. We are unsteady about even the strongest of our human relationships. We know within our hearts when we doubt ourselves or others, when we doubt even God; we fully understand when we ignore divine prompting to pray, to love, and to offer our lives in service of people. We often become fearful even when God is inviting us into a deeper, more profound relationship.
In Advent, fear becomes a doorway to change. As we listen to the ancient prophets such as Baruch, Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Mary, we step into a profound tradition of God’s love and presence. Advent uses our human fear, our angst, and uncertainty about the future, to open a new relationship with God’s presence among us. Advent sparks hope in us, and we wait for our hearts to more fully trust God to extinguish our doubt, to forgive our sins, to fill our lives with love, and show us how to act in the world.
In Advent, there is a new pathway to fearlessness. As we ponder Mary’s encounter with Gabriel, we hear her apprehension and uncertainty transformed into a profound and loving “Yes.” Mary’s faith-filled acquiescence, her availability to God, and her openness to the will of the Holy Spirit transformed fear into deep and loving fearlessness. Her approach to God in her youth opened a path of love and sorrow for her life as the mother of Jesus.
We are caretakers of such fearlessness. When Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, he became fearless in his acceptance of such a vision. His humble life changed other people’s lives for the good. His ability to receive Mary’s requests, her compassion, and her call to him to live faithfully in Jesus Christ, changes our lives as well. Mary’s appearance to that simple, humble man remains a faithful moment for us to ponder and celebrate. READ MORE about Our Lady of Guadeloupe.
Our call in the Advent season is to name our fear and to listen for God’s reassurance. Take this time to explore a life of fearlessness. Be still. Read the scriptures for Advent. Try to place your life in the story of what you read in the gospel. Pray from the wounded places of your heart. Pray from your pain. Pray from the scars of our world and all that makes you afraid. Pray when darkness comes in Advent so that you may experience divine love on Christmas Day.
We know the Messiah was born in the past, and we wait for our hearts to truly know God’s kindness in our present day. We know God will come again in the future, and we wait for our lives to reflect such dignity and love while on earth. If our faith is truly faith, then each of us shall live without anything to lose. We shall move from our human fear into lives of love and service, of complete and utter fearlessness, relying on God alone. When we reach the grace of fearlessness in prayer, that moment we may call Christmas.
Litany of Prayer:
Response: Let us hear your voice, O God
When darkness covers our lives…
When violence scars us…
When hatred damages us…
When loneliness settles in us…
When we cry out in the night…
When we desire new life…
When we long for hope…
When we ache for peace…
When we fear our own voice…
When we cannot heal our own lives…
When we do not know where to turn…
When we cannot let go of the past…
When we finally surrender to you…
When we seek your generosity and hope…
When we clear our own voices of doubt…
When we discover your peace…
When Christmas is born in us…
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About:
Rev. Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C., serves as religious superior of Holy Cross House, our retirement and medical facility at Notre Dame, Indiana. He is an award-winning author, blogger, and visual artist. Learn more at ronaldraab.com
Artwork:
Fr. Ron created this image of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe several months ago. Fr. Ron’s art has been published in parishes, dioceses, and ecumenical settings throughout the world.
Published November 2024
