CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - As the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord draws near, our Gospel readings over the last few days have recorded several encounters between people and angels. The word angel is from a Greek word which means messenger. Angels communicated God's messages, His plans - and they invite the people to whom they appear to respond to God's invitation. Their response matters.

On Tuesday, We heard the Gospel account from St Matthew which told of Joseph's experience with an Angel. (Mt. 1:18-25) I wrote about the encounter and Josephs response here. Wednesday, we heard the story of another angelic encounter between Zechariah and an angel (Luke 1: 5-25). Zechariah, unlike Joseph, did not initially respond with a full assent of faith. The story is instructive and I hope to write on it later.

This Thursday, we hear of the encounter between the little Virgin of Nazareth named Mary and the Angel Gabriel. (Luke 1:26-38) I will focus in on one verse and use it as a springboard to speak about the way in which we are called to respond to the Lords messengers in our own lives: "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28).

The angelic words of greeting from this wonderful biblical passage form the opening words of one of the most cherished prayers in Catholic piety referred to as the "Hail Mary." In the years that I have served as a Deacon of the Church I have found that these words - and the prayer that they intone - are a source of great comfort especially when people are ill, in trouble, or facing death. They bring tremendous comfort to many. 

Sacred Scripture tells us that Mary was "full of grace", filled with the very life and presence of God. She walked in a deep, abiding and intimate relationship with God. He was with her before she even responded to His invitation. God chose Mary even before Mary chose God. This order is vitally important if we want to grasp the deeper meaning of living the spiritual life.

We sometimes think that we brought God into our lives. This is hinted at in the use of popular language that, even if well intended, can lead us to believe that we do the initiating and somehow control the relationship. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus made this order of invitation and response clear in His words to His disciples, "You did not choose me, I chose you" (St. John 15:16).

I was raised as a Catholic Christian. My family practiced the faith until a tragedy shook our foundations. Afterward, we remained cultural - but not always practicing - Catholics. This occurred just as I began my turbulent teenage years. Later on, when I returned to the practice of my faith, I felt as if I had "come home".  I thought that I had "found" the Lord. In a sense, that was true. However, I would soon come to discover that He had never left me; it was I who had wandered away. It took a while to understand what that meant as His grace unfolded in my daily life.

During that time I also discovered the prayer of the great western Church father, Augustine, which he uttered upon his own return to the faith and recorded in his wonderful "Confessions": "Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you."

"Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace."

St. Augustine understood - like Mary and countless men and women throughout the ages have understood - that it is the Lord who reaches out to us in His love. It is the Lord who offers His grace. We are the recipients of that grace, and it fills us according to the capacity that He has built within us.  This proper order of initiation and response has profound relevance for us if we truly desire to live the spiritual life. God is already there. He awaits our response to His relentless love and grace, which are both within and all around us.

We can learn this and so much more from the Biblical visitation of Mary by the angel or "messenger" of God. Her experience with the Angel Gabriel offers other important lessons for our own daily ...