Lc 01:26-38
letruyentin
Daily reflection _ solemnity of the annunciation of the Lord
MARY’S “YES”
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to the Virgin Mary, at Nazareth, a small town in the mountains of Galilee. He announced, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” In token of the truth of his word, he made known to her the conception of John, the miraculous pregnancy of her relative now elderly and sterile: “And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God” (Lk 1:36).
Mary may not have fully understood the meaning of the heavenly message and how the maternity might be reconciled with her vow of virginity, but clinging to the first words of the angel and trusting to the Omnipotence of God she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary’s “Yes!” The Annunciation is the beginning of Jesus in His human nature. Through His mother, He is a member of the human race.
About to establish a new generation of the children of God, the Redeemer does not arrive in the way of earthly generations: the power of the Holy Spirit enters the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary, forming the humanity of Christ. Many holy fathers (Sts. Jerome, Ephrem, Augustine) say that the consent of Mary was essential to the redemption. “It was the will of God,” St. Thomas says, “that the redemption of humankind should depend upon the consent of Mary.” This does not mean that God in His plans was bound by the will of a human creature, and that people would not have been redeemed, if Mary had not consented. It only means that the consent of Mary was foreseen from all eternity, and therefore was received as essential into the design of God.
I would like to finish by asking you to ponder over a particular question this morning: Do you want to live a grace-filled life? God freely lavishes His grace upon all who believe in Him. We see the unfolding of God’s plan of redemption in the events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah. Mary’s prompt response of “Yes” to the divine message is a model of faith for all of us. Our Father gives us grace and He wants us to respond with the same willingness, obedience, and heart-felt trust as Mary did. When God commands, He also gives the grace, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to His grace or resist and go our own way.
Do we believe in God’s promise and do we yield to His grace?