Marian Devotion: Its Right Ordering and Development

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 17 Dec 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Early this year, in introducing our sharing theme, Mary and the Church, we mentioned adopting the right attitude in devotion to Mary. Pope Paul VI (1974) noted how the Church expresses in various attitudes of devotion its many relationships with Mary. So, at the end of the series now, let us see what constitutes “right attitude” in exercising Marian devotion. Besides providing a solid basis for our exercise of piety, it would greatly help promote Marian devotion. For guidelines on this, I will draw mainly from Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation, Marialis Cultus (MC).

Firstly, the exercise of piety towards Mary should clearly express its Trinitarian and Christological nature. “In the Virgin Mary everything is relative to Christ and dependent upon Him.” Besides being particularly Christ-centred, it should also reflect God’s plan (MC, #25) of Mary’s origin and the Incarnation of the divine Wisdom (Pius IX, 1854 as cited in Paul VI, 1974). This will help towards full knowledge of the Son of God and increase worship due to Him. Prominence is also due to the Person and life-giving work of the Holy Spirit in the history of salvation.

Secondly, the honour given to the Mother of the Lord should clearly show her place in the Church, i.e. “the highest after Christ and yet very close to us.” (LG, #54) This can be through symbolisms of church building architecture and images showing Mary’s place in the mystery of the Church. Examples are paintings of the Anunciation or the icon of the Theotokos often found in European churches. (MC, #28) The faithful can be led to appreciate Mary’s special dignity by highlighting the fundamental concepts of the Church as the Family, People or Kingdom of God, and the Mystical Body of Christ. They will then also realise that both the Church and Mary collaborate to give birth to the Mystical Body of Christ; that the Church’s action in the world extends Mary’s concern for the poor and the weak, for peace and social harmony and for mankind’s salvation merited by Christ’s death. Thus, love for the Church will become love for Mary and vice versa, since both must exist together. (MC, #28)

The characteristics mentioned were based on Mary’s relationship with the Holy Trinity and with the Church. To highlight the bond uniting us to Mary, Christ’s Mother and our Mother in the communion of saints, Pope Paul VI gave four more guidelines for Marian devotion.

For one, it should be biblical, but the biblical imprint should not be merely a skilful selection of texts and symbols from the Sacred Scriptures. Rather, texts of prayers and chants should be inspired and drawn from the Bible. Above all, devotion to the Virgin should be instilled with the great themes of the Christian message. Then only will the faithful be enlightened by the divine word and be inspired to live according to Christ’s teachings. (MC, #30)

Secondly, the devotions should draw inspiration from sacred liturgy and direct the faithful towards it. He emphasised that Marian devotions should not be suppressed, but neither should they be merged into the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which should be preserved as the summit of the Christian community’s gathering. (MC, #31)

Thirdly, Marian devotion should reflect the Church’s concerns, among which especially is the restoration of Christian unity. Thus, while preserving its uniqueness, it must carefully avoid misleading exaggeration or abolish any expression of cult contradicting true Catholic doctrine. (MC, #32 cf. LG, #67)

Finally, some people may find it difficult to see Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, as a model in current social and intellectual settings. Marian devotion may seem to be old-fashioned to them. (MC, #34) Concerning this, Pope Paul VI observed that

1) the Church has always proposed imitating Mary not in her ancient type of life, but rather in her fully and responsibly accepting God’s will, in her charity and in her spirit of service. It is because she was the first and most perfect of Christ’s disciples. (MC, #35)

2) this difficulty is due to some disconnection between Mary’s image in popular writings and Gospel accounts or doctrinal data about her (MC, #36). However, we should compare human science ideas and this disparity, and guided by the Holy Spirit, verify knowledge of reality with the Scriptures. Then will we be able to see how Mary mirrors the expectations of men and women of our time and how she is the perfect model of the Lord’s disciple. (MC, #37)

Other incorrect attitudes of piety are those that emphasise on external practices without serious commitment, and searches for extraordinary phenomena. (MC, #38)

Finally, the ultimate purpose of devotion to the Blessed Virgin is to glorify God and to lead Christians to commit to lives conforming absolutely to His will. (MC, #39)

References:

Paul VI. (2 February 1974). Marialis Cultus.

Vatican Council II. (21 November 1964). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium.

Mary’s Role in Man’s Redemption – Part II

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 26 Nov 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Last week, we shared that Mary freely chose to cooperate in God’s eternal plan of salvation, and that she serves Christ in the mystery of redemption by sharing His life and saving mission, which culminates in His sacrifice on the Cross. We stopped at St. Irenaeus’ strict emphasis on the Adam-Christ and Eve-Mary parallels. How does the parallel explain Mary’s role in our salvation?

(Fr. Keyes wrote that) St. Irenaeus started with the analogy itself: i.e., as sin, and then death, entered the world by one man’s disobedience, so the fruitfulness of life in the dead shall be restored by one man’s obedience. The bonds of death could not be broken unless the original process is reversed. Therefore, based on St. Paul’s doctrine that all things will be re-established in Christ, Christ’s obedience can undo Adam’s wrong only if like Adam, Christ is formed as man by God’s own hands. God formed Adam from virgin earth, but to make Christ’s formation a continuation of Adam’s, He could not have done so with Christ. To be Saviour, Christ must resemble Adam in origin. Therefore God formed Christ from the Virgin Mary. That is why Mary is important in this analogy, as St. Irenaeus set out:  

EVE	MARY
still a virgin	the Virgin
the spouse of Adam	already betrothed
was disobedient	through her obedience
She became both for herself and all the human race the cause of death	She became both for herself and all the human race the cause of salvation
Thus, what the virgin Eve  had bound by her unbelief . . .	The Virgin Mary unbound by her faith . . .

 (Deiss, 1972 cited in Keyes)

Fr. Keyes wrote:

“This is where we find the statement that Mary is the "cause of our salvation," and Irenaeus can only make such a bold remark because of the very strict parallel in which it is placed. Mary really is the cause of our salvation. … not … in the same sense that Christ is. …(but) only in the same sense that Eve caused our death. The actions of Mary do nothing to destroy the prerogatives of Christ, who is the Redeemer, just as the actions of Eve do not diminish the responsibility of Adam for sin. Nevertheless, just as Eve played a major role in the first sin, so does Mary play an active part in the salvation of mankind.”

Vatican II states that this is entirely God’s will (LG, #60) and quoted the early Fathers in saying: "death through Eve, life through Mary" and that Mary is the source of life. (LG, #56)

Fr. Neuner summed up Mary’s role in the divine work of redemption in three conclusions:

1.    (Firstly) Everything in salvation is God’s work, what is required of Mary is her faith, her free response and total involvement. (pp.118-119)

2.    (Secondly) The full implication of Mary’s share in the mystery of redemption, as mother of the Saviour, is realised only at the foot of the Cross (p.46, p.119).

3.    (Thirdly) By her union with Jesus in His life, mission and death, Mary sanctifies herself, for although gifted with holiness from her conception, she has to personalise it in faith and obedience throughout her life. (This is because God allows human freedom in His work.) By accepting her vocation as mother of the Saviour, she became a channel of salvation for all. (p.119-120)

How are we to apply these knowledge? Fr. Neuner wrote,

“…God alone saves us through Jesus Christ. (but) It is our task to receive the message of salvation in faith, respond to it in obedience and become involved and committed in its realisation.” (Neuner, 2004, p.118)

In this respect, we can turn to Mary, for in the divine work of salvation, she embodies the human part (Neuner, 2004, p. 118). Fr. Neuner gave good advice in these words:

“So Mary is model of the Church, redeemed and sharing in God’s redemptive work; the Church is the community of the redeemed which, in turn, becomes “sacrament of salvation” for the world. The same mystery is realised in every Christian. All Jesus’ disciples are redeemed to share their life with their brothers and sisters as members of Christ’s body in continuation of Jesus’ mission.” (Neuner, 2004, p.119)

As we enter the season of Advent, let us reflect on this and like Mary, with faith and obedience make present the mystery of Christ to the world. Then, we would have lived our vocation in the mystery of salvation.

References:

John Paul II. (25 March 1987). Redemptoris Mater.

Keyes, J. (n.d.) Mariology in the Fathers of the Second Century. Retrieved from http://www.rc.net/oakland/cpps/mariology.pdf on 19 October 2011

Neuner, J. (2004). Mary – Mother of the Saviour. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India.

Vatican Council II. (21 November 1964). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium.

Mary’s Role in Man’s Redemption - Part I

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 19 Nov 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Continuing with our theme Mary and the Church, today we shall delve into Mary’s role in man’s redemption. Does Mary play a part in our redemption? While the Church teaches that she does, non-Catholics maintain that man’s salvation is solely the work of Jesus Christ. As Marian devotees, it is good for us to understand better the Church’s teachings on this.

First of all, God’s plan for our salvation is eternal. Quoting St. Paul and Vatican II, Blessed John Paul II highlighted in the encyclical, Redemptoris Mater (RM), that since the fall of Adam and Eve, Mary was “already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the serpent…” (LG, #55, cf. Gen.3:15) He wrote:

In the mystery of Christ she is present even "before the creation of the world," as the one whom the Father "has chosen" as Mother of his Son in the Incarnation.’ (RM, #8)

‘…from the first moment of her conception … she belonged to Christ, sharing in the salvific and sanctifying grace and in that love which… (originates) in the "Beloved," the Son of the Eternal Father, who through the Incarnation became her own Son. (RM, #10)

The Incarnation thus marks the “fullness of time” when God’s promise to man after original sin was fulfilled (RM, #11). The Son of God came “born of woman, born under the law… so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (RM, #1 cf. Gal. 4:4-5)

Vatican II says: "The Father of mercies willed that the consent of the predestined Mother should precede the Incarnation." (LG, #56) Thus, it was God’s pleasure to give Mary the freedom to choose whether to cooperate in His plan for man’s salvation. This was realised at the Annunciation, when she freely consented to God’s request of her announced by the angel Gabriel. Accordingly, Fr. Neuner (2004) calls this a topic of Mary’s cooperation, where God’s sovereignty meets human freedom. It is the heart of all theology. (p. 114) He directed us to Vatican II, which describes Mary as “freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience.” (LG, #56) Because our salvation is God’s free gift of His love, it must include human dignity and freedom. This inclusion in achieving God’s plans does not diminish His absolute sovereignty, but rather makes it fully effective. We see in the biblical accounts of the covenant how God realises His designs with Israel and all creation not through force, but through free interplay of His creature’s freedom. (Neuner, 2004)

How involved is Mary in our redemption? Is it only by her free consent and giving Jesus the human body? Fr. Neuner (2004) wrote that by God’s design, Mary is drawn into Jesus’ life not only through physical motherhood, but also by sharing His life and saving mission (p. 45). By her fiat, she accepts her own place in His life and mission and consecrates herself “to the person and work of her Son” so that she “serves him in the mystery of redemption.” (Neuner, 2004, pp. 45, 115; cf. LG, #56) Her fiat-"let it be to me"-enabled her Son’s desire to do God’s will (cf. Heb. 10: 5-7) to be granted only on the human level, but the crowning moment of Mary’s motherhood in the salvific economy of grace is Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross (RM, #23), Blessed John Paul II wrote.

To understand Mary’s place in our salvation, Fr. Neuner proposes to re-look into Jesus’ redemptive mission in the light of His whole person and work, His mission and message, death and resurrection. Obeying His Father, Jesus accepts solidarity with us broken humans, sharing our condition, struggle, failure and death. (I quote Fr. Neuner) “Jesus is Saviour by being both with His Father and with us in His life, death and resurrection.” (Neuner, 2004 , p.117) In short, (from Fr. Keyes, citing St. Irenaeus), Jesus is Saviour by being fully divine and fully human (Irenaeus as cited in Keyes). Based on St. Paul, Fr. Keyes wrote: “It was because of the fact that the Redeemer had associated himself so closely with Adam, that he was able, in himself, to re-establish or re-create all things.”

St. Irenaeus explained how the death of mankind is transformed into salvation by emphasising on the Adam-Christ analogy with the paralegal of Eve and Mary (Keyes). He placed great importance on the parallels between Adam and Christ and between Eve and Mary, stressing that this is God’s analogy; God accomplished every detail of His work to preserve the analogy. (Keyes)

How does this analogy explain Mary’s role in man’s redemption? Next week, we will unpack this and also reflect on our own part in the mystery of salvation.

References:

John Paul II. (25 March 1987). Redemptoris Mater.

Keyes, J. (n.d.) Mariology in the Fathers of the Second Century. Retrieved from http://www.rc.net/oakland/cpps/mariology.pdf on 19 October 2011

Neuner, J. (2004). Mary – Mother of the Saviour. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India.

Vatican Council II. (21 November 1964). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium.

Updates on “A Crown of Roses A Day”

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 29 Oct 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

On 2 February this year, our parish’s 50^th anniversary, we started weaving “A Crown of Roses A Day”. It is our Golden Jubilee gift to Jesus and Mary; also a gift to our poor brethren who received the rosaries we have made with our very own hands. We have pledged to pray the Rosary to make at least a complete crown of 20 decades a day collectively, and ultimately, one little crown or 5 decades of the Rosary for each person who received our rosaries. Our main objective, besides soliciting prayers for the poor beneficiaries, our parish and priests, our nation, the Church and the world, is to encourage daily praying of the Rosary. Why so? Because it has been known to be the surest way to holiness. It fits into our Parish Priest’s call to renewal of holiness in this Jubilee Year of grace for our parish.

Coming to nine months now, it is high time for some updates on our prayer effort, and to answer questions asked.

When we started, we were still counting the number of rosaries to be given away. Now, we know that we have given away 3015 hand-made rosaries, to the genuinely poor, who certainly deserve our prayers. So too the makers and contributors, whose faith, perseverance and hard work, with God’s grace and help, saw the project through. More information on the project will be made available later.

So we are to weave 3015 little crowns of roses. We will pray for the special intentions until we have fulfilled our pledge but our intentions are not limited. We are free to pray for other intentions, especially for the Pope and his intentions, alongside the special intentions. This prayer effort will extend well beyond our Jubilee Year, but it does not matter. Why? Because our main aim is to pray the Rosary daily. This habit is not to end with the closing of our Jubilee Year, for holiness is our life-long call as Christians. Thus, praying the Rosary daily would be a life-long endeavour. This so-called project is only to provide a platform as a stepping stone for more people to start praying the Rosary daily, even if only to be part of our Golden Jubilee celebration. Hopefully, the habit will stick on. Hence, extending this endeavour beyond our Jubilee Year reflects our desire to continue striving for holiness by praying the Rosary daily.

As of yesterday, 28 Oct, we have weaved 1729 little crowns of roses. We want not only to fulfil our pledge, but also more parishioners to participate. So far, our prayer warriors have been faithful chapel-goers who have been valiantly helping us keep our pledge by completing a crown a day. Surely our parish is much larger than that. Therefore, brothers and sisters, do encourage your dear ones, especially those who have not done so, to pledge and pray for the special intentions of “A Crown of Roses A Day”. If you’re Internet-savvy, do help those who are not to register their pledges online.

No time for the Rosary? St. Louis De Montfort wrote that it is alright to pray while doing work that permits vocal prayer. (De Montfort, 1954, p. 111) Fathers Faroni and Crisostomo pointed out that even if we go to Mass everyday, praying the Rosary daily is still required, as it is the medicine advocated by our Mother to keep our faith strong and healthy (Faroni & Crisostomo, 2006, p. 22).

We also encourage group prayers, for where two or more are gathered in the Lord’s name, He will be there amongst them (cf. Matthew 18:20). Moreover, as St. Louis de Montfort wrote in The Secret of the Rosary (De Montfort, 1954, p.112), we give Almighty God the greatest glory, do the most for our souls and scare the devil the most when we say or chant the Rosary publicly in two groups or choirs. Although the Month of the Rosary is drawing to an end, you can still join our Rosary prayer in the church at 5.20 p.m. every Saturday, before the Novena. There are numerous Rosary prayer groups in our BECs, cell groups and amongst parishioners which you can also join.

Last but not least, this prayer effort comes from a firm believe in what the Rosary can do to and for those who pray it faithfully. Let us not waste time to start on or to firm up our steps on this sure path to holiness, especially in our Jubilee Year of grace.

References:

De Montfort. (1954). Forty-Fifth Rose in The Secret of the Rosary

Faroni & Crisostomo. (2006). The Five Warnings

Mary as Our Intercessor

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 22 October 2011)

Blessed Virgin Mary as our Advocate, Helper, Benefactress and Mediatrix.

Though various /many different terms are used / Whatever the term used it all brings us to call or address Mary as our Intercessor, and thus that brings me to the topic of my sharing this evening – Mary as Our Intercessor. 

I believe, for the very fact that each of us are here today in itself, shows /demonstrates/ testifies that we do recognize Mary as our Intercessor.

There is no doubt that it is because we believe that we can ask our Blessed Mother to intercede for our needs and the needs of others that, time and again, we go to her seeking her intercession.

Intercessor, as we know, originates from the word intercede – the act of interceding or offering petitionary prayer to God on behalf of others OR “to interpose on behalf of one in difficulty or in trouble, as by pleading or petition...". In the gospel, an intercessor is a go-between or advocate who represents and pleads our case to God.

To illustrate Mary’s role as our intercessor, I would like to focus on the second Luminous Mystery of the Rosary – The Wedding Feast at Cana. 

In John Chapter 2, Jesus, his mother, and his disciples are invited to a wedding banquet in the town of Cana in Galilee. At that time a wedding celebration lasted not just for a day like our celebrations but for almost a whole week. When all the wine provided for the celebration had been served and they ran out of wine, the Mother of Jesus said to him “They have no wine.” (John 2:3). It must have been a big embarrassment in Cana when the wedding party ran out of wine. Mary then interceded and sought Jesus to turn the situation around.

After Mary’s intercession and advocacy to remedy the situation at Cana, Jesus replies by saying “Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4)

Mary’s response to Jesus was to tell the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5) It shows us Mary’s total trust in the Word of God. She is the first person in John’s Gospel to show total trust in the Word of God. Mary is therefore a model Christian for us as she says, “Do whatever he tells you.”  When Mary says, “Do whatever he tells you” once again we see Mary’s importance as our intercessor, pleading on our behalf.

Her role as an intercessor is also illustrated further in the Lumen Gentium    document – quote:

“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. This, however, is so understood that it neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator.” (Lumen Gentium Vatican II §62)

In was also in this document that the Vatican II gave Mary the title Advocate because she intercedes before God on our behalf as our advocate.

In the prayer which we pray after the Rosary, the “Hail Holy Queen”, we ask Mary to intercede before God for us. We ask Mary to be our “gracious advocate” before God.

Hence let us remember the many times each day we ask Mary to intercede before God for us, to be our Advocate, as we pray the “Hail Mary” and say,

Lastly, let us ask Mary to help us to do whatever Jesus tells us. As Mary says, “Do whatever He tells you to do.”

There are so many images of Mary as intercessor that it is impossible to detail them all here. But it is helpful to understand that all images of Mary are connected. Her role as intercessor is also connected to her role as Mother of the Church, demonstrating to all what it means to live a life of prayer, love, and action.

Mary, Eschatological Icon of the Church

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 13 Aug 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Eschatology is the theological study of the “End Times”. In the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word originates from the Greek word eschatos, which means last or farthest. In short, it deals with the “four last things” – death, judgement, hell and heaven.

The title, “Mary, Eschatological Icon of the Church” means Mary being the image of what the Church is to be at the end of time. She is so because she is Type of the Church. In Mary, the Church learns the meaning of her own mission; in the fulfillment of Mary’s life then, the Church sees her own destiny. This fulfillment is celebrated in the feast of Mary’s Assumption. Therefore, as Fr. Neuner wrote, Mary’s Assumption is also the mystery of the Church.  

Since the Assumption is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, there have been questions and protests on the doctrine. Fr. Neuner noted that faith in the Assumption is difficult for those who have not experienced Marian devotion. It should not be forced on them, but if explained in its true meaning and in simplicity, they may understand and recognise its significance more easily. By today’s sharing, we shall try to understand this mystery a little better, so that we may not only give the reason for the hope that we have, but also show that this Christian hope has been realised in Mary, the first of the redeemed. I shall focus on two aspects of the Assumption – firstly its biblical foundation and secondly, a new but biblical understanding of the resurrection of the dead.

The Assumption is linked to the resurrection. Fr. Neuner wrote that all Christian life has the promise of final glory, the fulfillment of the whole person, body and soul. (Neuner, 2004, p. 101) As Blessed John Paul II said, “we will reach the ultimate goal of human life when "God will be all in all" (1 Cor 15: 28)”. Jesus Himself defended the faith in the resurrection before the Sadducees in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt. 12:18-27). But the full meaning of the resurrection is found only in Jesus’ own person. In Jn. 11:25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live…” St. Paul says that the Christian faith is in vain if there is no resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15:12f). He himself prays that he may come to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, share in Christ’s sufferings by imitating Him in His death and striving towards the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3: 10-11) Thus the Bible teaches that those who are united with Jesus Christ in their life and work are sure to share also in His glory (Neuner, 2004, p. 101). The same Bible presents Mary uniquely linked to Jesus, giving Him His earthly life and sharing in His saving mission. So she is with Him also in His resurrection; thus the biblical basis for Mary’s Assumption.

Traditionally, death was understood to be the separation of the spiritual soul from the material body. The soul will be re-united to the body only in the resurrection. Today, theologians realise that this is not biblical. The Bible sees death as the destruction of the whole person, not only of the body, for the human being in his personal wholeness comprises his body, mind and spirit. Likewise the resurrection of the dead receives its full meaning as God’s creative, lifegiving work that gives us our life in its ultimate fulfillment. The glorified body has a different form after the resurrection; it is not a continuation of its earthly form. This erases the question of where Mary’s body might be kept after her death in the traditional understanding. Our faith then becomes simple, as Fr. Neuner wrote: God’s power and love assumes our dying life into his own glory. This finality of human life is revealed in the Risen Lord, it is presented to us in Mary, the icon of redeemed humankind, as the hope and promise for the whole world. (Neuner, 2004, p. 106)

Thus, the dogma of Mary’s Assumption symbolises the fulfillment of God’s saving work through Jesus Christ for all who believe in Him. It tells us that “life is more than what can be seen; it is fulfilled and transformed in the embrace of God’s love.” It is more significant in our time which is in dire need of hope. “God is greater than man; as He was with Mary in the darkness of her life to lead her to glory, so He is with us.” (Neuner, 2004, p. 112).

References:

Neuner, J. (2004). Mary – Mother of the Saviour. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India.

Mary Model of Virtue –Obedience

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 30 July 2011)

Mary’s response to God’s call is a Perfect “Yes” after a reflective silence and her question asking for further clarification. She gives her consent to the Lord’s invitation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. Mary wholeheartedly embraces the divine plan. To understand the simplicity and depth of Mary’s response, we have to reflect on it in detail.  Her response consists of two parts that imply and complement each other.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord” which is Mary’s Ecce that expresses her total availability to serve the Lord. Mary offered herself as the “handmaid of the Lord”.  The word “handmaid is a term that indicates an unlimited generosity, an expression of ardent love of God’s will, the responsible love of a mature personality.’ By calling herself “a servant of the Lord” Mary expresses her availability to place herself unreservedly at the service of the Lord and His salvific plan. Mary was fully aware that her vocation to be the mother of the Saviour was God’s unmerited gift to her, that she was not at all worthy of it.  But the Lord had “looked upon the lowliness of his servant and therefore she would place herself at His service. As stated in the Lumen Gentium,(LG 56) “she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, (emphasis by sharer) to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him,… serving the mystery of redemption”. Mary takes her place within Christ’s Messianic service. Therefore to be called means fundamentally to serve God’s plan of salvation like Mary.  Mary’s attitude was by fixing her eyes always on the Lord in order to serve Him unconditionally.  Mary’s humble service reminds consecrated persons that they are no master of their vocation, but only servants whom the Master has entrusted with a special mission. Together with Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, they are called to partake in the salvific mission of Jesus, the “servant of the Lord” who did not come to be served, but to serve. We are reminded of the Lord’s and His mother’s utter humility.

Mary’s Fiat is by joyously consenting to co-operate in God’s salvific plan.  We have to know that the “fiat” of Mary at the Annunciation, “genoito” in Greek, expresses “a joyous desire to”; never a resignation or a constraining submission before something burdensome or painful.  It is rather a joyous desire to collaborate with what God foresees for her.  It is the joy of total abandonment to the good will of God.

Throughout history, man is called by God to co-operate in His plan of salvation, and the former has responded in various ways. Among those called, however, no one has ever given such a perfect and complete response as the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her “fiat” not only sums up and perfects the manifold responses given to God’s call, but it is also the sublime model of response to this call.  (Source: “What you should know about Mary by Charlene Altemose, MSC)

God comes to us not in the dramatic way the angel comes to Mary, but in those deep-felt inspirations, in our quiet, in our listening to the promptings of God’s grace within. God calls each of us to a certain task and, like Mary, we are to be conformed to the divine will. We too need to discern, need to question and need to be open for “impossible possibilities” for which only God has the solution.

Mary’s Annunciation challenges us to consider our own annunciations. Although no angel speaks to us, God does send those who announce God’s will for us. It may be a knock on the door from a needy neighbor; it may be the cry of someone asking us for a favour; it may be the demands and obligations of our job or state of life urging us to complete what we have begun; it may be a prompting deep in our heart that inspires and guides us. No matter what God asks of us, we need only look to Mary for guidance and the example of doing God’s will most perfectly.

In Mark 3:34-35, Jesus’ reply was, “ Whoever does the will of God is my brother, sister and mother”  .  In Luke 11:27-28, a woman cried out with a blessing for Jesus’ mother and Jesus’ response to that cry was, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it”.

Mary shows us how to prioritise the details of life, always pursuing the will of God, with no personal gain in mind.