# Fifth Day of the Christmas Novena – Mary’s Yes
*2015-12-21*

> Bill reflects on the fifth day of the Christmas novena, focusing on Mary’s “yes” in Luke 1:34‑38 and invites listeners to respond to God’s call.

## Setting the Scene

Good evening, I’m Bill Young, and welcome to Prayer in Lunch. Today we continue our Christmas novena with the fifth day, observed on December 19. The theme is “Mary’s Answer” – the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon her and she declared, “I am the handmaid of the Lord.”

## Personal Reminder

A few years ago, on a Saturday, December 22, 2007, I was looking for a religious book I had never found. Instead I uncovered a small volume my aunt, Sister Mary Teresa, had given me before she died in 1993. The bookmarked passage was exactly the Gospel for the next Sunday – Luke 1:34‑38, the story of Mary’s “yes.” It reminded me that God knows every hair on our heads, every minute of our lives, and calls each of us to answer Him.

## The Gospel Reading

From the Gospel according to Luke 1:34‑38:

“Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘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 holy, and will be called the Son of God. Also your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has conceived a son; and she who was thought to be barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.’

“Mary replied, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed.”

## Prayer of Thanksgiving

Let us pray:

“O God, you chose to bring your Son into the world through a virginal womb. Grant us the grace to perceive the joy of this mystery, that we may share in the gifts of heaven through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

We then pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be, joining the ancient prayers of the Church.

## A Call to Say Yes

Just as Mary answered “yes” to God’s invitation, we are invited to respond to the Holy Spirit in our own lives. May we each find the courage to say, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” trusting that nothing is impossible with God.

*May we, like Mary, hear God’s call and answer with a willing “yes.”*