Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. (Eph 1:3-6, 11-12)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120823.cfm
Like Mary, we too have been chosen in Christ . . . according to God’s gracious favor. And like Mary, we too respond with humble faith, “Let it be done to us according to your word.”
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, December 8
