Gospel (Lk 1,26-38) - In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin was called Mary. Entering her, he said: "Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is with you." At these words she was very upset and wondered what sense she had in having a greeting like this. The angel said to her: «Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive a son, you will give birth to him and you will call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end." Then Mary said to the angel: "How can this be, since I do not know a man?". The angel replied to her: «The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with his shadow. Therefore he who is to be born will be holy and will be called the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, in her old age has also conceived a son and this is the sixth month for her, who was called barren: nothing is impossible with God ». Then Mary said: «Behold the servant of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word». And the angel walked away from her.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Reading the page of the annunciation in the imminence of Christmas is a precious gift because in Advent the Church tries to tune our hearts to the unfathomable mystery of the birth of Jesus. And the Word of God insists on speaking to the hearts of believers. Each time it resonates in a new way, precisely because it pushes us to renew our hearts, to change it, to make it participate in new perspectives. And this always creates some disturbance. The angel's words also caused a disturbance in Mary. The Word of God, in fact, always causes an internal movement. When the angel speaks he doesn't say words to the wind, he wants to touch the heart and change it. It happened to Zechariah, it happened to Mary and it continues to happen to each of us if we listen to the Gospel. But, unlike Zechariah, Mary did not stop at being upset. That girl continued to listen to the angel. She did not interrupt the dialogue with him, as often happens to us who withdraw when love becomes more demanding and she wants to involve us in a higher plan. We prefer our small and narrow horizons to the bigger dream that the Lord proposes to us. Maria knew well that she was a poor girl from a remote village on the outskirts of the Roman Empire. However, despite being aware of her weakness, she says "yes" to the angel's invitation. Since that day the history of the world has changed. On that day "the Word became flesh". And Mary became the first of the believers, the first who welcomed the Word of God with her heart, to the point that she became flesh of her flesh. Our daily "yes" to the Word of God continues to change our lives and that of this world. Let us be accompanied by the example of Mary and with her we say: "Behold the servant of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word".