I suppose that there are many ways and things that people use to get our attention. Some people use loud music and lots of bright, colorful images. Some people entice us with a really good deal and the chance to save some money. Some people promise us things like pleasure, or health, or safety. Some people use fear and intimidation to get our attention. Remember when they used to show those State Police movies of accidents in driver’s training? I still wear a seatbelt today because of what I saw in those State Police movies. But my absolute favorite, attention-getters, are the ads for the Monster Trucks events. Are those ads twice as loud, or what? You know the ones I’m talking about, don’t you? “SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! COME AND SEE THE LOUDEST, THE WILDEST, THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS MONSTER TRUCK RALLY OF ALL TIME, TIME, time, time… COME AND SEE FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS OF DIRT AND WATER AND GRAVEL, TURN THE RCA DOME INTO A MUD BOG, BOG, BOG, bog, bog… SEE HUNDREDS OF PERFECTLY GOOD CARS SMASHED BY THESE TRUCK WITH TIRES BIGGER THAN YOUR HOUSE, HOUSE, house, house…!!! Now, honestly, I have never been to a monster truck rally. I know that some of you think that that goes right along with the NASCAR thing, but it doesn’t. I just like to listen to the ads on the radio. But you’ve got to admit, those ads are great, aren’t they? They get your attention. They make you stop and wonder what in the world are they yelling about? What a great way to deliver an important message.

Today, on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, God has got an important message to deliver to Mary. And God, in His infinite Wisdom and Goodness, sends an Archangel. He sends Gabriel. Now, it could have happened differently. God could have chosen many different ways. Can you imagine with me, for just a moment, what Gabriel, the Archangel, could have sounded like, if we had one of those monster truck ad voices: “MARY, MARY, MARY, Mary, Mary… The Lord is with YOU, YOU, You, You…! Blessed are you among all women, women, women, women…! You’re going to have a BABY, BABY, Baby, baby… and you’re going to name Him, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Get your tickets all CarQuest location, locations, locations…! Thank God that God had a better plan, right? An Archangel was enough drama.

So the Angel comes, and Gabriel announces to Mary what were going to celebrate next weekend. God has an all-round remarkable plan for saving His people. God is about to come into the world. He’s not sending a message. He’s not speaking in a burning bush. He’s not sending us another prophet. God is coming into the world that He created. And all of the drama of our Gospel reading today, is all over the fact that God needs Mary’s cooperation for this to happen. Remember, God never forces anyone to do something. He calls. He asks. He pursues. But Mary’s free cooperation here is important for the Incarnation to happen. With the Archangel Gabriel, God got Mary’s attention, and the Archangel receives Mary’s “yes” to God’s will. What an awesome story!

We come here today, and God is also asking for our cooperation. We, too, are to do God’s will in our lives and in our world. The Incarnation continues in the Church today. We, like Mary, cooperate with God. We say “yes”. And Jesus continues to come into our world today through us. We might not get an Archangel appearing to us, we might not get a “monster truck voice” from Heaven, but, my brothers and sisters, make no mistake about it, today we are just as called as Mary was, to do God’s will and to be obedient. Especially on this last Sunday of Advent, God calls each of us to say “yes” to Him and to His will this week in our lives, in preparation for Christmas. What can you do this week? It’s going to be a busy week. It’s going to get crazy. The traffic alone is going to be an occasion of sin. How are WE going to be God’s holy people this week? We’re going to do it just like Mary did, with Faith, and love, and trust. Anybody can say “yes”. It takes a person with God in their heart to really live that “yes” out. And that’s what this next week is all about. That’s what these readings are about also.

God has BIG plans for all of us. He has incredible plans, awesome opportunities! He doesn’t need to be loud, or obnoxious, or flashy to get His point across. He doesn’t need to sound like a monster truck advertisement. But He does want to amaze you. The only other question left is, are you willing to let Him?

God bless us on this Fourth Sunday of Advent… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!