When the fullness of time had come

At St. Anne’s Guest Home, where I serve, we are privileged to have priest come daily for Mass. Residents, Sisters, and visitors alike are thus enabled to participate in this wonderful Mystery.

We have been blessed by some wonderful homilies. In one such homily, the visiting priest drew from the scripture read in the second reading for this Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, wrote:

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son…
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”…

Although he spoken of this ‘fullness of time’ before, I appreciated hearing again Msgr.’s inspiring words about salvation history and God’s wisdom in guiding it. In this morning’s homily, he again reflected on God’s timing. Christ came in the fullness of time; the time was right.

At the time of Jesus’ coming, with the Pax Romana, travel was comparably easy (e.g., they had created roads.) This facilitated the apostles’ missionary journeys and the spread of the gospel around the world.

He took the reflection on God’s fullness of time also to another level, a personal one. God’s timing is perfect in our own lives as well. He knows when the right time is for different events.

He also reflected on how people ministering to others can be sensitive to timing, to whether or not a person is ready to hear a message, to whether it is the fullness of time for them.

We can also look with gratitude at how our Father has worked in our lives, how He has guided us and drawn us to His Son. I have looked back over my own life’s journey and have seen, with gratitude, His gentle, loving hand guiding me with His great wisdom and foresight.