The Annunciation by Carl Heinrich Bloch, c.1890
With prayerful pleas
and Advent songs of longing,
I await the birth of God’s Anointing One.
Come, O Gift of heaven’s harmony,
and attune my third ear,
the ear of my heart,
so that I may hear,
just as Mary, faithful woman of Israel, heard.
O God, the time is short,
these days are too few,
as I prepare for the feast
of the birth of Mary’s son.
Busy days, crowded to the brim,
with long lists of gifts to buy,
and things that must be done.
Show to me, also your highly favored child,
how to guard my heart
from noise and hurry’s whirl,
so that I might hear your voice
calling my heart to create an empty space
that might be pregnant with heaven’s fire.
Quiet me within,
clothe my body in peacefulness,
that your Word
once again may take flesh-
this time, with me-
as once it did in holy Mary,
long Advent days ago.
Edward Hays, American Catholic Priest
Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim
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“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
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