In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 26-38)
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 26-38)
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| Mary at the Annunciation |
In today’s Luke's Gospel, a divine messenger(Gabriel) brings Mary the awesome news of the forthcoming Incarnation ofthe Messiah, and we hear the Blessed Virgin Mary’s assent. Other than
“rejoicing” at the memory of this long-awaited Good News, where can mymeditation take me?
Mary’s response to God can lead us in many directions, but today let’s focus onjust two points. The context, of course, is Mary’s humble submission of her will to God’s will in all things, and the fact that the “birthing process” began at that verymoment of her “Yes.”
There is a Dominican mystic from the 14th century that is often quoted,because his words capture so well our own participation in this birthing process.Meister Eckhart asks the questions that we all ought to consider. First he asks:“What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture?” Mary’s “Yes” that brought Christ to the world is not just a “memory event,” such as recalling that Babe Ruth or Tiger Woods set records to remember. Instead, it ought to lead us to ponder how to imitate her: how can I bring Christ to the daily world that I live and participate in? Do I reflect Christ in what I say and do? Am I a true disciple, like Mary the model disciple?
A second question that Meister Eckhart asks: “What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son . . . does not take place within myself?” When God comes to dwell within us at our Baptism, we are empowered to live the Christ-life, one oriented to loving God and Neighbor. Do I see that orientation in my own heart, or am I still oriented to selfishness? Do I humbly submit to all of the Spirit inspired teachings of the Magisterium of the Church, without exception, so that its wisdom can grow in my heart?
In summary, in a sense your personal meditation can parallel Mary’s journey: have I truly given an unqualified “Yes” to Jesus in my own life, and what is the best way for me to bring this Good News to my own little world? Mary and all the Saints have one thing in common: they “will His will alone.”
This is our life, our desire and our destiny: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to Your word.” Mary is the perfect model of the “obedience of faith” that we disciples are all called to imitate.
Your servant in Christ,
Deacon Joseph Pasquella
Diocese of Buffalo
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