Solemnity of the Annunciation
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, remembering that the birth of Jesus was foretold to Mary through the messenger of God, the archangel Gabriel. We celebrate it deliberately on this day, the 25th of March, exactly nine months before the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord on Christmas Day.
This is an important celebration of our faith, because if Mary hadn’t been so cooperative, well, salvation history may have been affected rather poorly. But she said yes, even though she could never have known how this would all turn out. Her fiat, her faith-filled “yes” resounds through the ages to ring in the final chapter of God’s saving grace poured out on the world. We too are called on, time and again, to make our own fiat, our own leap of faith, saying “yes” to God’s plan for our lives. We don’t get the big picture either before we have to make that decision, we are called to cooperate with God and trust that he will provide the grace to bless our efforts. The Psalmist’s prayer is ours too, today: “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”
Sphere: Related ContentThe Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Those words, spoken by St. Elizabeth to Mary, summarize what is so important about celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary’s faith, to me, is remarkable. She could never have known where doing the Lord’s will would take her. An unplanned pregnancy, watching opposition toward her son grow, seeing him die on the cross. How could she have said yes to all of that? But she didn’t have to say yes to that, she had to say yes to God, to God in whose promises she trusted with all her heart.
This humble girl, with great faith, was raised on this day to the heights of heaven that we can yet hope for. Just like Mary, a lot of us have to live lives that are imperfect in some ways. There are those among us who have unplanned pregnancies. There are those among us whose children go in directions that put them in danger. There are those among us who have to watch a child die. But because Mary suffered these sorrows too, and yet was exalted, we can hope for the day when that which she was given and which we have been promised will surely be ours.
What the Assumption means for us is that as Mary has gone to exaltation before us, so we can hope for exaltation on that Great Day. We too are called to believe that what is spoken to us by the Lord will be fulfilled.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
The Annunciation of the Lord
Fear keeps us from doing all sorts of things the Lord wants for us. If we would truly let go of our fear and cling to our God, just imagine what he could do in us and through us. Ahaz was King of Israel, a mighty commander, but yet was so afraid of God and what God might do that he refused to ask for a sign. He would prefer to cut himself off from God rather than give himself over to the amazing power of God's presence in his life. Because of that perhaps, he never lived to see the greatness of God's glory.
But that did not disrupt the promise. In the fullness of time, God's messenger came to a young woman named Mary and proposed to accomplish in her life the sign that Ahaz was too afraid to ask for. She too was initially afraid, pondering what sort of greeting this was. She was also confused, not knowing how what the angel proclaimed could possibly take place in her life.
The difference, though, was that she heeded the initial words of the angel that have resounded through Salvation history ever since: "Be not afraid." And, thanks be to God, Mary abandoned her fear and instead sang her fiat, her great "yes" to God's plan for her, and for all of us. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." These words are reminiscent of what the Psalmist sings today: "Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will."
And we know what happened from there. Mary certainly wasn't confident that any of that could be accomplished through her own efforts, but she absolutely knew that God could do whatever he undertook. Nothing would be impossible for God, and she trusted in that, and because of that, we have the great hope of our salvation. We owe so much to Mary's cooperation with God's plan for our salvation.
And so the promise comes to us. We have the great sign that Ahaz was afraid of but Mary rejoiced in. We too are told that God can accomplish much in our own lives, if we would abandon our fears and cling to the hope of God's presence in our lives. Can we too be the handmaids of the Lord? Are we bold enough to say, "Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will?" All we have to remember is the first thing the angel said to Mary: "Be not afraid."
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