Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Wednesday of the fifth week of Lent, March 25th, Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

Delivered by Thia Santos from Church of Divine Merch Shah Alam in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Isaiah 7: 10-14; 8: 10; Rs psalm 40: 7-8a.8b-9.10.11; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-38. THE GREATEST NEWS The title for our meditation today is: The GreatestNews. We are aware of, well informed, and following the current global newsabout the war between Iran and the United States and Israel. This news isperhaps the biggest news of the moment. This war has a global impact,particularly due to the high price of fuel, given that Iran is the world'slargest oil producer and it may reduce the distribution of its oil.Furthermore, major national news stories have captured our attention, such asthe floods that have hit several regions in Indonesia, resulting in propertydamage and loss of life. In spiritual and faith aspects, the biggest news forus is the Anunciation of the Lord, or the good news about the coming of ourLord, delivered by the messenger of heaven, Angel Gabriel, to a virgin ofNazareth in Galilee, named Mary. This news is called the biggest news becauseit has several important reasons: 1) Gabriel is one of the greatest angels whowas sent by God to deliver the news; 2) the news put an end to all forms ofpromises God had made with humans since the time of Abraham; 3) the content ofthe news is about the Son of God who became a man in Jesus Christ; and 4) thenews marks a major theme in the history of salvation called the incarnation. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, the greatest newshas been anticipated with a promise that illustrates so precisely about avirgin who would give birth to the One sent by God, the only Son of theheavenly Father. The one born will be given the name Emmanuel, which means Godis with us. This promise came true with the event of the Virgin Mary whoreceived the word from heaven through the Angel Gabriel. Mary's response to thegreatest news: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, it will be done to me accordingto Your will”, is the biggest response, which became the standard for the responseof faith of all followers of Christ. All of us as children of Our Lady makethis faith response our commitment to do God's will throughout our lives. Our joyful celebration today makes us believe that thebiggest news in our daily lives is about the coming or the presence and thetruth. News that is shared among us through oral, written, and online waysabout the coming, or the presence, and the welcome of ourselves or ourneighbors, must occupy our attention and interests over those news aboutnon-existence, absence, and rejection. News about the truth that containsgoodness, justice, peace, joy, and salvation must be produced and spread more andmore than those news about lies, violence, loss, hostility, war, and terrorism.The biggest news for us is about goodness and truth, not the vice versa. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... Our great and most loving God, fill us withjoyous news about Your truth. May Your Spirit help us to fight all false and badnews that spread around us. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name of theFather ...