Conforming (phase 2), God Prepares a Way for Our Salvation - The Mystery of the Incarnation (step 8)

"Now we turn our attention from the Trinity to the entire earth, all inhabitants and all countries of it, and then slowly focus our attention on the image of Mary with the angel in Nazareth. This exercise of imagination is like to watching a movie with this opening closing down of the camera. With this visualization we have three big pictures to use in contemplation, the Trinity, the world and the scene in Nazareth." - Manual for the retreats, as quoted by Step-by-Step Retreats

This seems like the right transition at the right time. For two weeks we have recalled the longing of Israel for the Messiah and our longing for Christ's return, in the context of the parable of kingdom. Come to think of it, I probably need to wrap up the seventh step a bit in this context.

The people of Israel were of course waiting for the promised king who would restore the glory of their nation. The Lord had worked such amazing deeds for them, and they must have longed for that work to resume. But God never seems to do his marvelous works in the same way that he did them before. He always seems to have something bigger - and often less obviously spectacular - in mind. So the kingdom he has established is far beyond what the children of Israel anticipated with longing, and therefore those who were most invested in the ways that God had worked previously mostly failed to recognized it when he began to bring his plan of salvation to greater fullness.

So yes, it is good for us to prepare to celebrate this great mystery by taking the view described in the manual for the retreats. (I haven't included a direct link to the manual because the link from Step-by-Step's site appears to be broken.)  By first considering God's perspective and the eternal, infinite love for the universe which he created in love - and which, in his love, he desires for each of us to enter - and then allowing God to bring us into the presence of this young girl and angel in Nazareth, we begin to approach the place where we might consider the surprising ways he might be coming to us today. Recognizing each encounter's true nature prepares for us to give our own fiat in response to the circumstances that otherwise annoy and trouble us. And this allows the Holy Spirit to make the Son ever more incarnate in our own lives - conforming us more fully with our King whom we have been considering in the previous step.