“In the sixth
month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary. And he
came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with
you!" But she was greatly troubled
at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might
be. And the angel said to her, "Do
not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb
and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son
of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there will be no end." And Mary
said -to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no
husband?" And the angel said to
her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the
Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month
with her who was called barren. For with
God nothing will be impossible."
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to
me according to your word." Luke
1:26-38
In
our Blessed Mother, we receive a profound witness of what it means to let God’s
glory shine through us. That is what it
means to be fully human and fully alive, to make the Lord and His love known to
the world, to give Him our flesh, as Mary gave Him flesh at the Incarnation. Mary,
indeed, allows God’s glory to shine through her, especially in her humility,
simplicity, trust and blind obedience.
At
the Annunciation, God accomplishes in Mary that which seems impossible. The Angel Gabriel tells her she will conceive
Jesus. She is taken aback. We can certainly relate to this response! Mary questions the Angel, “How can this
be?” In this simple question, Mary does
not doubt that what the Angel tells her is true, but she seeks to understand
how it will be fulfilled. She seeks
understanding, yet even if she cannot understand, she will undoubtedly say yes,
for she has the gift of faith. Mary is
able to pronounce her fiat because she trusts in the God that she knows and
loves. She must walk through the
darkness of uncertainty and fear, yet she is able to say yes to that which
seems impossible because she has a living relationship with the Father and
knows Him to be good, merciful, loving and faithful. She allows her relationship with the Father
to change and shape her life, and she knows that what the Angel Gabriel tells
her is true, that “with God nothing will be impossible.”
Mary
shows us that our relationship with Christ should change us; it has to change us. We are called to be disciples, not just
believers. Our Baptism puts demands upon
us. It also gives us the graces we need to be Christ’s witnesses in the world
and to give Him our flesh, that those we encounter may come to know Him and
love Him as we do. These graces are
poured out upon us in the other sacraments as well, particularly Eucharist,
Confirmation and Confession. We are
furthermore given the graces we need to fulfill our vocations, no matter how inadequate
or unworthy we may feel. God calls us in love, for love, casting aside
the limits we place on ourselves and our abilities. God called Mary in a completely unexpected
way that disrupted the daily course of her life. It overturned “its settled rhythms and
conventional expectations” (Pope John Paul II, Homily March 25, 2000, 3). So
often we become so comfortable in our
daily routines, that when God calls us out of them we protest and dig in our
heels. Just as Mary was docile to the
overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be docile and ready when the
Lord calls. Mary, as His first disciple,
gives us the supreme witness.
How
do we let God’s glory shine through us in the midst of our daily routines and “impossible”
situations that test our faith and stretch the limits of our trust? By looking to Mary. How do we make God known to the world in
which we live and give Him our flesh so that others may come to know and love
Him as we do? By looking to Mary. We do this by saying yes daily and by
fulfilling our vocations courageously! As
a young woman discerning religious life, the future often seems uncertain and
unclear, yet looking to Mary, I find not only strength, but freedom and joy. As God accomplished the impossible in Mary,
may He accomplish His will in each of us, and may we respond to His call humbly
and joyfully, making His glory known to the world.
