A good day to divine a future husband ~ St. Luke's day (18 October)

St. Luke's Day was believed to be a good day to divine a future husband. According to lore (tradition and belief), a young woman should create a powder of flowers, spices and vinegar to spread on her stomach, breasts and lips before going to bed, and repeat three times:

St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me

In dreams let me my true love see.

If the young woman's future husband appears in her dreams and smiles, he will be true! If instead, he is rude, he is likely to be a philanderer.

source: stlukerchamilton.com

We should pray that every woman 

hand made by God' Himself 

in this world to have a divine spouse 

in the likeness of St. Joseph, 

into whose custody God 

entrusted His most precious treasures. 

St. Joseph was obedient 

to the angel of the Lord commands, 

taking loving care of Mary 

and gladly dedicated himself 

to Jesus Christ's upbringing. 

May all husband follow 

the example of St. Joseph.

We pray for this in Jesus Name. 

AMEN.

October dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary

This dedications is mainly due to the liturgical feast/memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on 7 October. We give honour the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer our prayers and her intercession on behalf of us through recitation of the Rosary and it's mysteries by the faithful. The holy rosary, a devotional prayer of the Catholic Church, is both mental and vocal, honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary. It consists of 15 decades of Aves (Hail Mary), each decade being preceded by a Pater (Our Father), and followed by a Gloria (Glory be), all recited while fingering the rosary beads. A different mystery is contemplated during the recital of each decade. They are the 5 mysteries of each which reflect the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries of the life of Christ and His Blessed Mother. On 16 October, 2002, Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter, "Rosarium Virginis Mariae", and in conjunction with the year of the Rosary, added 5 new mysteries, the Luminous mysteries which were to be optional, because no Pope can mandate a break with tradition, binding the faithful under pain of sin. The Luminous mysteries focuses on the public ministry of Jesus Christ. Pope John Paul II has called the Rosary his favourite prayer, in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a mother meditated on in her heart. We Catholics seek refuge in Mary’s care through recitation of the rosary because the Immaculate Virgin was chosen to be the Mother of God, and to cooperate with him in the work of man’s salvation, She has a favour and power with her Son greater than any human or angelic creature and t is her greatest pleasure to grant her help, and comfort those who seek her. 

During the month of October, let us consider this beautiful prayer of the most Holy Rosary and it's mysteries guide us to draw closer to Jesus and Mary by meditating on the great mysteries of our salvation.

O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven.

St. Teresa of Jesus (St. Teresa of Avila), Virgin, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

St. Teresa was born in Avila (28 March, 1515) and died in Alba, Spain (1582). In 1533 she entered the Carmelite Order; for eighteen years she suffered physical pain and spiritual dryness. Under divine inspiration and with the approval of Pope Pius IV, she began the work of reforming the Carmelite Order. In spite of heavy opposition and constant difficulties, she founded thirty-two reformed convents. When dying she often repeated the words: "Lord, I am a daughter of the Church!" At the time of her death, a sweet odor pervaded the room in which her body lay; so strong was the odor that it was found necessary to open windows, allowing outside air to dilute the intoxicating fragrance. Her holy body rests upon the high altar of the Carmelite church in Alba, Spain and her heart with its mysterious wound is reserved in a precious reliquary on the Epistle side of the altar. She was canonized by by Pope Gregory XV on 12 March 1622. Pope Paul VI, on September 27, 1970, officially declared the Carmelite nun to be the first woman Doctor of the Church.

Patron of bodily ills, headaches, lacemakers; laceworkers, loss of parents, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people, sickness and Spain.

O God, who through your Spirit raised up Saint Teresa of Jesus to show the Church the way to seek perfection, grant that we may always be nourished by the food of her heavenly teaching and fired with longing for true holiness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Tuesday, 15 October, 2013
St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

Reading

Romans 1: 16 - 25
16	For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17	For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live."
18	For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.
19	For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20	Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse;
21	for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.
22	Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23	and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.
24	Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
25	because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.

Psalm

Psalms 19: 2 - 5
2	Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3	There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4	yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5	which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Gospel

Luke 11: 37 - 41
37	While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table.
38	The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
39	And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness.
40	You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
41	But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.

Let nothing affright thee, 

Nothing dismay thee. 

All is passing, 

God ever remains. 

Patience obtains all. 

Whoever possesses God 

Cannot lack anything

God alone suffices.

~ St. Teresa ~

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi ~ 2013, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Church of St.Francis of Assisi, Cheras

Awaken our Hearts,

Stir the Passion of our Faith

28 September 2013 (Sat) 

~ 

6 October 2013 (Sun)

Blessing of pets will be Saturday, 

5 October 2013 @ 10:00am

The Lord, my inheritance

Preserve me, Lord, I put my hope in you.

I have said to the Lord 

“You are my Lord, in you alone is all my good”.

As for the holy and noble men of the land, 

in them is all my delight.

But for those who run to alien gods, 

their sorrows are many.

I will not share in their libations of blood. 

I will not speak their names.

You, Lord, are my inheritance and my cup. 

You control my destiny,

the lot marked out for me is of the best, 

my inheritance is all I could ask for.

I will bless the Lord who gave me understanding; even in the night my heart will teach me wisdom.

I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight, 

with him at my side I can never be shaken.

Thus it is that my heart rejoices, 

heart and soul together, 

while my body rests in calm hope.

You will not leave my soul in the underworld. 

You will not let your chosen one see decay.

You will show me the paths of life, 

the fullness of joy before your face, 

and delights at your right hand until the end of time.

Glory be to the Father 

and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, 

as it was in the beginning, is now, 

and ever shall be, world without end. 

Amen.

My body will rest in calm and hope. 

Alleluia, Praise the Lord.

St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon, Religious, Founder of the Three Orders (Solemnity)

Founder of the Franciscan Order

Born: 26 November, 1182, Assisi, Italy

Died: 3 October, 1226, Marche, Italy

“The peace of Saint Francis 

is the peace of Christ, 

and it is found by those 

who ‘take up’ their ‘yoke,’ 

namely, Christ’s commandment: 

Love one another as I have loved you. 

It is the peace of Christ, 

which is born of the greatest love of all, 

the love of the cross.”

Francis was the son of a rich merchant, Bernardone, received a good education and began his early life as a confirmed sinner. Later on in his life Francis who was part in a battle between Assisi and Perugia, he was captured and imprisoned. During his life in captive Francis began receiving visions from God and upon his release from prison, Francis was instructed by voice of Christ, who told him to care for the his church and live a life of poverty. Francis set out on a mission to restore Jesus Christ's own, original values to the Church. With his incredible charisma, thousands of followers were soon drawn to him, listening to his sermons and joining in his way of life; his followers became known as Franciscan friars.

Francis received a vision that left him with the stigmata of Christ, markings resembling the crucifixion wounds Jesus Christ. Francis the first religious to receive the holy wounds of the stigmata. He was canonized as a saint on 16 July, 1228.

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Father Almighty, 

Your ways and purpose 

are often hidden from us. 

Guide me now and through 

the intercession of 

Saint Francis of Assisi, 

I beg You, in my sorrow, 

and by Your power, 

to let me know Your will 

regarding my special need 

(mention your request). 

Amen.

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O God, by whose gift Saint Francis was conformed to Christ in poverty and humility, grant that, by walking in Francis' footsteps, we may follow your Son, and, through joyful charity, come to be united with you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Friday, 4 October, 2013
St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon, Religious, Founder of the Three Orders (Solemnity)

Reading 1

Sirach 50: 1, 3 - 4, 6 - 7
1	The leader of his brethren and the pride of his people was Simon the high priest, son of Onias, who in his life repaired the house, and in his time fortified the temple.
3	In his days a cistern for water was quarried out, a reservoir like the sea in circumference.
4	He considered how to save his people from ruin, and fortified the city to withstand a seige.
6	Like the morning star among the clouds, like the moon when it is full;
7	like the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High, and like the rainbow gleaming in glorious clouds;

Psalm

Psalms 16: 1 - 2, 5, 7 - 8, 11
1	Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
2	I say to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord; I have no good apart from thee."
5	The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot.
7	I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8	I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
11	Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Reading 2

Galatians 6: 14 - 18
14	But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15	For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16	Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God.
17	Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18	The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

Gospel

Matthew 11: 25 - 30
25	At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes;
26	yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
27	All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28	Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29	Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30	For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Let us be part of the army 

of the humble and poor in spirit 

so as to receive the wisdom 

given by the Father 

and bring joy 

to the Heart of Christ!

Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi

Assisi, Umbria, Italy

St. Faustina, Virgin (Optional Memorial)

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska 

the apostle of the Divine Mercy
and "Secretary" of His Divine Mercy

(1905-1938)

On 5 October, we celebrate the optional memorial of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, born Helen Kowalska, she had a religious vocation from the age of seven, after being rejected by a number of congregations, she finally entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw in 1925. Faustina was chosen by Jesus to remind the world of the mystery of God's merciful love, the devotion to Divine Mercy. Jesus appeared to her as "King of Divine Mercy" and said to Faustina, "Today I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world." It is his desire to heal the aching world, to draw all people into his merciful heart of love. In her spiritual life she also distinguished herself with a love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Mother of Mercy.

St. Faustina's mission was to spread devotion to God's Mercy, which she called His greatest attribute. She was to do this by founding a congregation of religious devoted to the Divine Mercy and by having an image painted of Christ's mercy (Jesus with red and white rays radiating from His Heart, with the legend "Jesus, I trust in you"). She is spread the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a devotion revealed by Jesus to her and to ask the Holy Father to establish the Sunday after Easter as the Feast of Divine Mercy. Jesus promised great graces to those who would pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

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The Chaplet of Divine Mercy 

is prayed on an ordinary rosary. 

Sign of the Cross

Begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed. Then, on the Our Father beads, pray:

Eternal Father, 

I offer Thee the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity 

of Thy dearly beloved Son, 

our Lord, Jesus Christ, 

in atonement for our sins 

and those of the whole world.

On the Hail Mary beads, pray:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, 

have mercy on us and on the whole world.

At the end, recite the following three times:

Holy God, 

holy Mighty One, 

holy Immortal One, 

have mercy on us 

and on the whole world.

Sign of the Cross

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Faustina was declared Faustina Venerable on 7 March, 1992 by Pope John Paul II and later beatified on 18 April, 1993, and finally canonized by Pope John Paul II, on 30 April, 2000. The first Sunday after Easter was declared Divine Mercy Sunday.

O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasures of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

This year 2013 marks 

the 75th Anniversary of St. Faustina's death.

Saturday, 5 October, 2013
St. Faustina, Virgin (Optional Memorial)

Reading

Baruch 4: 5 - 12, 27 - 29
5	Take courage, my people, O memorial of Israel!
6	It was not for destruction that you were sold to the nations, but you were handed over to your enemies because you angered God.
7	For you provoked him who made you, by sacrificing to demons and not to God.
8	You forgot the everlasting God, who brought you up, and you grieved Jerusalem, who reared you.
9	For she saw the wrath that came upon you from God, and she said: "Hearken, you neighbors of Zion, God has brought great sorrow upon me;
10	for I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them.
11	With joy I nurtured them, but I sent them away with weeping and sorrow.
12	Let no one rejoice over me, a widow and bereaved of many; I was left desolate because of the sins of my children, because they turned away from the law of God.
27	"Take courage, my children, and cry to God, for you will be remembered by him who brought this upon you.
28	For just as you purposed to go astray from God, return with tenfold zeal to seek him.
29	For he who brought these calamities upon you will bring you everlasting joy with your salvation."

Psalm

Psalms 69: 33 - 37
33	For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34	Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves therein.
35	For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall dwell there and possess it;
36	the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Gospel

Luke 10: 17 - 24
17	The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!"
18	And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19	Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you.
20	Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
21	In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
22	All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
23	Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see!
24	For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

Almighty and ever-living God

who revealed to Saint Faustina

the pierced side of your Risen Son

flowing with water and with blood,

grant, through her intercession,

that we may enter into the merciful designs of his Heart

for the salvation of sinners

and for the joy of his one Bride, the Church.

Through Christ our Lord. 

AMEN.

Prayer of St. Faustina before the Most Blessed Sacrament

I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth and it tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You, incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good, and my heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration.

My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here You light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature.

O Christ, let my greatest delight be to see You loved and Your praise and glory proclaimed, especially the honor of Your mercy. O Christ, let me glorify Your goodness and mercy to the last moment of my life, with every drop of my blood and every beat of my heart. Would that I be transformed into a hymn of adoration of You. When I find myself on my deathbed, may the last beat of my heart be a loving hymn glorifying Your unfathomable mercy. Amen.

prayer source:EWTN

O Lord, make haste to help me

O God, come to my aid.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen. 

Alleluia, Praise the Lord.

Have faith in God's timing

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Our Lady of the Rosary (Memorial)

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honour Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. We celebrate the glories of Mary with you and to implore her motherly protection upon the whole Church and the whole world. In this way the Rosary will become a weapon of victory, an effective weapon, to which Christ's promise applies very well: "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9).

CCC 971

971 "All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship."513 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.... This very special devotion ... differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."514 The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.515

The Holy Scriptures reveal to us that after the Blessed Virgin Mary had visited her cousin Elizabeth, she recited the Magnificat and one verse proclaims (Luke 1:48, "... From now on all generations will call me blessed") and the Holy Rosary fulfills the prophecy of those words. And by this words in the scriptures, the blessed Virgin Mary shall be called blessed today as much as she was called blessed in the days after the glorious birth of our Lord Jesus.

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ you Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

"It is as if every year Our Lady invited us to rediscover 

the beauty of this prayer, so simple and profound.

" The Rosary, a "contemplative and Christocentric prayer, inseparable from the meditation of Sacred Scripture," 

is "the prayer of the Christian who advances 

in the pilgrimage of faith, in the following of Jesus, 

preceded by Mary," 

~ Benedict XVI ~  

Let us reflect upon the mystery 

of Our Lady of the Rosary 

that is unravelling itself upon the world. 

Let us give thanks to the Lord 

for the wonders that He has bestowed 

upon Our Lady of the Rosary, 

our heavenly Mother 

and our heavenly Queen.

Monday, 7 October, 2013
Our Lady of the Rosary (Memorial)

Reading

Acts 1: 12 - 14
12	Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away;
13	and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
14	All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Psalm

Luke 1: 46 - 55
46	And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47	and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48	for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
49	for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50	And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.
51	He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
52	he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree;
53	he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.
54	He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
55	as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

Gospel

Luke 1: 26 - 38
26	In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27	to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28	And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"
29	But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
30	And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31	And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32	He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33	and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."
34	And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?"
35	And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
36	And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37	For with God nothing will be impossible."
38	And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.