Theme: Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the coming of the Savior. Mary, the Mother of God, waits patiently for the birth of her Son and Savior, Jesus Christ to Whom she has given her life.

Grace: I pray for the grace of Marian surrender and anticipation of the Savior during this holy Advent and Christmas season.

“…[Mary] was predestined first of all to be Mother of God. And the precise reason why the fullness of glory and grace was given her was to be the mother of Christ, as St. Thomas expresses it.”

     ~Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O. P.

For Reflection:
When in Sacred Scripture do we first learn of Mary’s predestination to be the Mother of God? (Hint: It is in the Old Testament in the first book.) What does this suggest about God’s own preparation for the coming of Jesus? What sacrament was both my preparation for Christ as well as my initial reception of Him? As a chosen daughter of the Most High God, I, too, have been called to be a Christ-bearer. How can I cooperate with grace?