Procession during the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Mar 25 at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
By Agnes Chai
Mar 30 2021
KOTA KINABALU – Archbishop John Wong celebrated the liturgy of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on Thursday Mar 25 at the evening Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
After the proclamation of the Annunciation from the Gospel of Luke, Archbishop began his homily. He said “In this feast, we celebrate the ‘Yes/Fiat’ of Mary to God. Tonight, the Lord invites each of us to contemplate and imitate the faithfulness of Mary in doing the will of God. Through her ‘Yes’, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is because of His love for us all.”
He added, the plan of Salvation is all God’s doing. It is a free gift, as well as an invitation for us. We have the choice to accept or to reject. Hence, our attitude or response to it should be like that of Mary: Let what you have said be done to me! God wants to do His plan of salvation in our lives even in this present moment.
He noted that when Mary said ‘Yes’, that would be the moment she commits and consecrates her entire life to God. Like Mary, we are called to give to God our lives so that God could use us to bring goodness and love to the world.
The Archbishop then announced that present at the liturgy, both physical and online, were 240 members of the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community, who were going to make the Marian Consecration that day.
The Community, which exists under the Cathedral parish, has undergone a 33-day to Morning Glory Retreat, a course of preparation for Marian Consecration by Fr Michael Gaitley. The 33-day preparation was scheduled so it would end on the vigil of a Marian feast day, which happened to be the Marian feast of Annunciation.
In sum, the Archbishop said, in looking at Mary in relation to Consecration, everything is derived from God and goes back to God. Referring to the recorded Seven Words of Mary in Sacred Scripture, Archbishop offered to the Community the seventh word spoken by Mary – “Do whatever He tells you” and “She stored all things in her heart and pondered…”.
He assured them that God would help them to keep their commitment in their Marian Consecration as they hear Mary’s word responsibly, respond positively, and like Mary “store all things in our heart and ponder, and do whatever He tells us”.
With Archbishop Wong at the altar, was parish priest Fr Paul Lo, who is also the Community’s spiritual adviser.
