Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 / Hebrews 10:4-10 / Luke 1:26-38
St. Augustine was quoted as saying: God does not ask of us the impossible. He may ask us to do the difficult thing, but He will make it possible.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the proclamation of the Good News of salvation.
It is not only a joyful event, it is also a very profound event in God's plan of salvation.
Yet for Mary, it was not just an event; it was for her a mission.
And if she said "Yes" then it was going to be a life-long mission. And it was going to be difficult.
But God assured her it was not going to be impossible.
Mary put her faith and trust in God as she accepted her mission.
We live in difficult and fragile times. We have wars here and nuclear radiation there and all sorts of dangers and crises everywhere, over and above our own troubles and worries.
Trying to believe and live out the Good News is not only difficult, but seemingly impossible.
Believing that there can be peace, that there can be joy, that there can be love, can be difficult.
But let this celebration of the Annunciation, the celebration of the Good News of our salvation, remind us that difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.
We join Mary to say "Yes" to God because we want to believe that God is greater than any difficulty and impossibility.