Teen Series | When life doesn't make sense: A lesson from the Annunciation

Highschool Reflection | Luke 1: 26-38, 6th Wednesday of Lent, 2026, Year B.

Note: Reflection published four days prior to the liturgical day.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that made little sense at the time, only to realise later that it carried a deeper purpose? If that does not resonate with you, it has nonetheless been the pattern of my life. Several years ago, my formation for the priesthood ended abruptly; after seven years of living the vow of poverty in humble obedience, I found myself with almost nothing and shown the door. 

Thankfully, a parishioner nearby offered me temporary refuge for a semester in her non-compliant attic so that I could complete one unit of study while working part-time. However, towards the end of the academic semester, I could sense my host was eager to show me the door as she valued her solitude and didn’t want a long-term tenant. Alongside the studies and work, I searched for employment and accommodation and before I knew it, I found myself renting a room in the country, working on a dairy farm nearby, feeling even more confused. “What am I doing here on a farm?” I wondered. The wage was thin, rent high, and before long I was evicted, only to discover that I had also lost my job. This drove me further into the country, where I slept on a new friend’s couch before eventually settling into a converted chook pen. Even there, exposed to the cold from the nearby river and poorly sealed against the winter, I could not make sense of my circumstances.

The confusion was sharpened by what had come before. At the end of my Bachelor of Science, I was awarded a generous scholarship to pursue a master’s degree. It was sufficient to clear my personal debts and allow me to enter the seminary without delay. Yet seven years later, I found myself no longer in formation but effectively destitute. None of it aligned with the path I had imagined. Like Mary in the Gospel, I found myself asking, “What does this mean?”

In today’s reading, Mary is troubled by the appearance of the angel Gabriel, who brings good news that defies all natural expectations: that she, a virgin, will conceive: “But how can this come about?” she asks. Yet despite the bewilderment and uncertainty, her response is one of extraordinary trust: “Let what you have said be done to me.”

This Gospel reveals that moments of confusion and disruption are not outside the scope of God’s will. When our plans collapse and the present seems incoherent, these very circumstances may be the place where God is at work. At times, life may feel stable and predictable; yet just as quickly, it can be overturned, redirecting our course in ways we neither expect nor desire. In such moments, our Christian response is not despair, but to hold firm in the will of God with faith, hope, and charity, like Mary our model, trusting that even the most unexpected experiences can be gathered in God’s providence.

As school students, even though our experience at high school is of a very high standard, we are not exempt from the disruptions of life: like students in different uniforms in the neighbouring area, we too may feel emotionally low to the point of needing external support. We may also miss out on selection when things seem to be proceeding smoothly or find ourselves injured through an unforeseeable accident. These life’s episodes can throw us off course, forcing us to reconsider original plans that often introduces fear and anxiety due to the uncertainty of moving forward. 

At other times, the disruption is far more serious when we might lose a loved one; it might be a grandparent, a friend, or even someone closer to home. Experiences like these shake us deeply, yet they need not define us. Instead, they can become opportunities in which we rediscover God’s will in our own lives, and learn to accept, with humility, that they are part of a greater plan. Like Mary, who gave the world the Christ child, we too can allow God to use those moments for good, even to the point of changing the course of history, whether here in our school community or beyond the college’s boundary. 

So, what does God have in mind for us? We just keep searching, listening, and be open to saying yes allowing God to work through us to change the world for a better place.