I HAVE NO HUSBAND…

Genesis 3:9-15,20
9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”10 And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.”14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
5 He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,6 to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.11 In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will,12 we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?”
35 And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

MEDITATION

THE FIRST READING recount Adam and Eve’s shameful efforts to cover up their sin; hide from God, blame one another rather than take responsibility for their actions, which led to their excommunication from the garden. God does however leave the door open to His mercy with one caveat, whereby He put Satan on notice that enmity shall exist between him and the woman, as well as between “the seed of the woman”—a prophetic allusion to Christ the Son of God— who would be born from the new Eve, Mary the wife of Joseph. Gods statement (vv 15,20) and promise imply that both Mary, the “mother of all the living” and Christ will be incorruptible and immune to the allures of Satan!

St PAUL makes the point that God has predestined that all believers includding the Ephesian community, were called to be sons and daughters of Christ who was borne of the new Eve, Mary. 

St LUKE record that most wonderful glorious day when the prophetic Word of Yahweh (Gen 3:15,20) was fulfilled. Mary was astounded and much surprised by the glorious accolade of the angel knowing full well that she had made a Nazirite vow (v34;Num 30:7) by not induging in the conjugal act with Joseph, Mary nevertheless submitted to the gracious will of God with the words; “let it be to me according to your word,” because it would not cancel nor impinge the sacred vows of preserving her virginity, moreover it would forever fortify her to say no to Satans sinful demands.

On a daily basis we are being tempted by Satan to give expression to disorded allures to numb our ability to control our sexual continence and or preserve our marital or celibate vows. How can this be that Satan is allowed to effortlessly dehumanize the dignity of man, poking his finger in the eye of God, moving our status lower than animals with multiple disordered sexual propositions that contradict the natural law of God?! We are called to be like Mary the new Eve, submit to the Almighty One; commit to our sacred vows, say no to the false propositions of the evil one and yes to Yahweh,calling upon Him to purify and fill us with His supernatural gift of grace, mercy and steadfast love. 

LET US PRAY: Psalms 98:1-4 

1 A Psalm.O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.2 The LORD has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Author. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days