Today’s Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent is the story of the Annunciation according to St. Luke. It is a familiar story to all of us. It is a story about Mary’s astonishment at Gabriel’s announcement. It is a story about faith and trust. It is a story about courageously accepting the role assigned to her by God. It is a story about humility and obedience.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Mary’s Son, the Son of God. Our faith and our trust become Incarnate. May we always feel the joy that the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, gives us: In Jesus, God is with us and He loves us beyond measure.

Like Mary, we are disciples of Jesus. She is the role model for the virtues of a deep and abiding faith, of trust in God, of humility and obedience.

We would do well to imitate her virtue.