Prayers & Devotions | Devotionals

In a difficult situation, I will pray one a “Hail Mary,” asking Mary for help in being faithful

by Father Robert DeCesare | Source: Catholic.net

Luke 1:26-38

Introductory Prayer:  
Lord, I know by faith that these are some of the most important moments of my day. I freely open my mind, heart and will for you to do as you please, because I know you can only desire and do only what is good for me. I know that you will give me the grace to do whatever you ask of me, and that you will always accompany me. That is enough for me.
Lord, I know that you are with me and very much want me to fulfill your plan in my life. Help me carry out your most holy will with love.

Petition: Lord, give me the grace to do your holy will.

1. God Wants Our HappinessPleasing God through the Small, Daily Tasks:
The angel Gabriel finds Mary doing nothing extraordinary, but rather doing ordinary tasks like washing clothes, sweeping, getting water, doing the same daily prayer as every devout Jew. But in doing the ordinary she is doing what is pleasing to God. Her example should be our guide. Work can be an ordinary means of holiness. Man, as Pope John Paul II said, “not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human being and indeed, in a sense, becomes ‘more a human being’” (Laborem Exercens, no. 9). We please God when we do our duties, fulfill our responsibilities, work to meet our basic needs. While we may not be doing something extraordinary at every moment, we still praise and glorify God when we undertake the ordinary with love. If an angel were to come looking for me, would he find me doing my daily tasks lovingly?

2. “Do Not Be Afraid!”
Mary “was greatly troubled and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” When God presents us with his plan, we too might be afraid. We may not fully understand what he has in mind. It can seem that his plan is too great for us. But when God wants something from us, he shows us that it is not beyond our reach. As with Mary at the Incarnation, God will make it happen and will provide all the grace necessary for its completion.

3. “May It Be Done to Me According to Your Word..”
When Gabriel clarifies Mary’s mission and illustrates that with God all things are possible, Mary makes an act of faith. Her act of faith is what the Second Vatican Council terms the ‘obedience of faith’. The obedience of faith “is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals, and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him” (Dei Verbum, 5). God supplied Mary with his grace and did not abandon her; nor will he abandon us. When we do what God wants and correspond tocooperate with his plan, he will support us. He will accompany us as we carry out his will and bring his plan to fulfillment. God’s will is our holiness, and when we do his will we help God to make us saints.

Dialogue Conversation with Mary:
Mary, teach me how to do God’s will as you did, so that God will I can remain with mein his company. I want to do his will, even though at times I know that it may seem difficult or impossible. Ask your son for the grace of my perseverance for me so that I, too, may cooperate do what with the Lord, whether he is asking something of me that is ordinary or extraordinary asks.

Resolution:
In a difficult situation, I will pray one a “Hail Mary,” asking Mary for help in being faithful.