Adults often ask a child, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Aunts, uncles, neighbors, etc. asked that of me when I was very young. I didn’t have much to say, I hadn’t thought about it.
Monday is the Feast of the Annunciation. The proper day for the feast is March 25th—nine months before Christmas. However, this year the day fell in Holy Week and the feast had to be relocated.
I am not sure that Mary had any thought about what she wanted to be. Yet, there was a plan for her from all eternity, and the same is true for you and me.
Mary came to know the plan through the message of an angel and even though she was confused, she agreed to accept the plan God had in store for her.
The Angel Gabriel doesn’t appear to us and announce the plan God has for each of us. There is a plan for each of us! The revelation comes in more ordinary ways—through prayer, also through the encouragement of parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, friends and relatives. We come to understand our destiny bit by bit. Will I be ready to say “yes” to the plan of God even though I might not understand all that the plan entails? That is essential for each person if they are to grow as the person they were created to be.
A few months ago, I invited the students at Community of Saints to join “The Father Steve Hail Mary Club.” The student promises to pray one Hail Mary everyday asking Our Lady to help know, understand, and accept the plan God has. Mary knows how it works.
Father Steve Adrian
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