Flesh, Feast, and Feeling Worthy

Do you know what the Spanish word “carne” is? It means meat or flesh. Many years ago my pastor pointed out during his Christmas Mass homily the significance of the Incarnation and what it meant that God was born to us in the flesh and walked among ordinary men.

Almost nine months ago we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation, and if you happened to attend Mass that day, you would have heard the same Gospel reading you hear today. The Incarnation is such a significant moment that we bow deeply or genuflect at the words that commemorate it whenever we recite the Creed in Mass. God has stepped into history and taken a seemingly ordinary girl to perform the most extraordinary miracle.

This also happens to the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe commemorating another story of ordinary to extraordinary when an indigenous man encountered the most dazzling woman. And while he doubted his ability to relay her message, he finally succeeded when her image appeared across his tilma (cloak) as roses fell to the ground before his bishop.

Today is a day of miracle after miracle after miracle, and we can sometimes get lost in it all. We might see ourselves as too small, too sinful, too unworthy of His work. Yet He calls us forward to great things, to holiness, to be His hands and feet and heart. Regardless of what you think your limitations are, He will surpass them. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. (Luke 1:45)

Regardless of what you think your limitations are, our God will surpass them.Click to tweet

As you pray the Rosary today, contemplate what fulfillment of God's plan for your life you are already a part of. Your great work is happening right now for Him.

Jacqueline Skemp is a daughter, sister, wife, and mother who endures living in Minnesota after leaving California for her one true love. You can find out more about her here.