Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Isaiah 55,10-11

For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat, so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

These verses conclude the second part of the book of Isaiah, the work of a prophet who lived during the exile in Babylon. It was a difficult time for Isarel, a dramatic experience marked by doubts and uncertainties. The return to Jerusalem had raised many hopes. But how to build again life after the bitter experience of exile? One conviction was ingrained: the Word had to become again the foundation and the root that would nourish the faith of the entire people of Israel. The Word of God does indeed have a great power to change. God sends it to be effective and change the hearts of men and women and their history, just as rain and snow water and make the earth fruitful. We know it well too: when the Word of God is accepted it produces much fruit. That is why it is good to ask ourselves: do we listen willingly to the Word that the Lord addresses to us? Several times in the Gospel it is repeated that the sowing of the Word will have its effect no matter what. Trusting in this evangelical conviction, what we are asked is not to neglect to listen: the Word will in any case bear fruit. Let us ask the Lord to give us a heart that is ready to listen, so that the conversion he asks of each of us in this time may be realised.