Holy Mary Full of Grace

The Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Gospel Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
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 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.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“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.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.


I'm finally getting around to posting about yesterday. It was one of those days where I had lots to do but got very little of it done. I've been struggling a lot with my feelings regarding my parents. I really shouldn't say "parents" but my Dad. Quite honestly, most days he's pretty together, perfectly fine but he's very needy and wants attention. I think he's bored. He gets frustrated easily and he does forget things. I'm glad I'm handling the finances but I'm not great at taking care of my own sometimes, so I'm trying hard to stay on top of theirs.

I don't have a lot of patience with him and I know it. When I get home in the afternoon or evening, I don't like going out again unless I've made plans. Yesterday, I kept reminding myself to attend Mass. I couldn't make the 12:15 and make it to my luncheon so I had to go in the evening. There are times, actually a lot of times, when I like to go to Mass by myself. It's nice to just sit there quietly and take it all in. I usually always drive myself though I meet my parents there or a friend on Sundays.

So, with that in mind and on the agenda, my dad called at 4:30 to take him to Walgreens. I was still busy getting the Christmas decor down and getting it all situated, but I said I'd come get him shortly. Then, on the way, I got held up by a neighbor. So, I picked him up at 5:10. He told me to just go to Mass and we could go later, but we went. I decided I'd just skip Mass. We got his prescription filled and he offered to go to Mass with me. Usually, it's iffy if my Dad goes to Mass on Sundays. If he feels well, he'll go. Otherwise he doesn't go. I didn't think he had the stamina to make it though Mass last night.

We got there, sat close to the back in case we had to leave but we didn't. Mass was gorgeous. Lately, I've been really lukewarm regarding the Church. I won't dare leave the Church but I've gotten riled up by so many things that some Sundays it's hard to get in the mindset to go to Mass but last night after Mass, the homily and the evening with my dad, I felt like my spirit was renewed. Mass was gorgeous. The smell of incense wafted through the church, the music was really good and my pastor's homily was poignant. Like most Solemenities or other big occasions, he sang the Mass and so it was just heavenly to hear.

Plus, I really love teaching Catechism. I hope by the time the kids make their First Holy Communions, I'll be a good teacher.

I'm also trying to keep up with the spiritual reading-- reading the New Testament and other books. I'm getting back on track with prayer and am trying some journaling.
Still, sometimes... being Catholic is hard.

(Partially crossposted to my LJ. Image is Diego Velasquez, Immaculate Conception.)