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Writer's pictureSarah Raad

Appearances

“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” (Luke 1:38).

The Blessed Virgin (Cover Copy of the Gospels 8th-9th Century Germany)

Yesterday, I was at a business meeting, and I met a woman who had recently finished her treatment for cancer. She had completed sixteen rounds of chemotherapy, lost twenty-three kilograms and had been unable to leave her home (apart from visits to the hospital) for sixteen months. Yesterday was her first non-medical outing…


And as I was talking to this woman (who is still very sick and is unsure of the longevity of her earthly life), I was struck by her words.


She told me, “There were days and days and days where all I could eat for the whole day was one boiled egg because I was simply too sick to eat. There were days where I did not even have the strength to walk to the bathroom. And yet, for the very first time in my life I was GRATEFUL for that egg and I was grateful for the days when I had the strength to walk…”


And I have been thinking about that woman today on this feast day of the Immaculate Conception, when the Blessed Virgin gave her FIAT – her perfect acceptance of God’s Holy Will…


“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” (Luke 1:38).

You see, the Blessed Virgin and this woman who I met yesterday have quite a lot in common because something that appeared terrible happened to them, and they met the appearance of disaster with GRATITUDE because they could see the GOOD beneath it...

You see, the reality of that FIAT for the Blessed Virgin in the world as it was in her time, was not an easy thing. Even if we put aside her suffering later in her life, when she bore witness to the Passion and Death of her Blessed Son, she still had a terrible burden right then and there.


You see, two thousand years ago, a Jewish woman (and the Blessed Virgin was only barely more than a child when she conceived Our Lord) would be KILLED by stoning for committing the sin of adultery. And there was the Angel Gabriel, standing right there – possibly in the middle of the small home that Our Lady lived in in the middle of just another ordinary day – and effectively issuing a DEATH WARRANT for the Blessed Virgin. You see, by conceiving of a Child who had no Earthly father, the Blessed Virgin was exposing herself to death by stoning. There would be nobody to stand by her and guarantee that she had not sinned.


And death by stoning is not an easy way to die. It is a slow and painful death where a mob runs after the victim, chanting and shouting and throwing rocks that break bones and draw blood and eventually cause a traumatic head injury, which is usually the way that the victim actually dies in such circumstances.


So, effectively, the Blessed Virgin received a diagnosis of terminal cancer that day when she gave her Fiat – just as the woman I met had done. And the response of the Blessed Virgin was COMPLETE SURRENDER.


She did not try to plan ahead. She did not try to convince the Angel to change God’s mind. She did not try to work out logistics. She did not ask for some proof to show Saint Joseph. Instead, she replied, “‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” (Luke 1:38).


And in understanding how GRATEFUL she really was in accepting the Holy Will of God without any thought for herself, I cannot help but stop in wonder at the Masterpiece of God’s Creation…


For without my Blessed Mother and the appearance of disaster, the entire world would not be saved.


And so, as I consider all the terrible disasters that have affected me in my life – like this woman’s experience with cancer – I have to stop and wonder at the opportunity for FIAT that we are provided with through such experiences… For though I am the biological daughter of Eve, the Queen of Heaven adopted me.


And I must never lose sight of that – no matter the appearances…


For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.

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