# Mary, full of grace
*2014-12-20*

> On the fourth Sunday of Advent, Bill Young reflects on the beauty of the Virgin Mary and her role in helping us prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.

## The Sign of Emmanuel

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. We are reading from a book called Our Advent Journey with Christ in the words of Pope Francis. As it is written in Isaiah 7:14, 'The Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman shall bear a son, and his name shall be Emmanuel.'

## Contemplating the Mother of Jesus

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, our gaze is drawn to the beauty of the mother of Jesus, our mother. With great joy, the church contemplates her as 'full of grace,' as seen in Luke 1:28. This is how God saw her from the first moment of His loving design; God saw her as beautiful and full of grace.

## Waiting in Expectation

Mary sustains us as we live this Advent season in expectation of the Lord. Advent is a time of awaiting the Lord who will visit us, not only in a general sense but in each of our own hearts. Let us wait for Him. May the Virgin Mary help us to hasten our steps to Bethlehem to encounter the child who is born for us, for the salvation and the joy of all people.

## The Joy of the Gospel

To Mary, the angel said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.' May she obtain for us the grace to live the joy of the gospel—an intimate joy filled with passion, wonder, and tenderness in our families, at work, in our parishes, and everywhere. This is the joy a mother experiences when she looks at her newborn baby and feels that the child is a gift from God, a miracle for which she can only give thanks.

*Jesus, help me give thanks for the miracle of your presence with me.*