“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God.’”
When the Angel of the Lord appeared to the Blessed Virgin during the Annunciation, which is commemorated in the First Joyful Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary, the Blessed Virgin did some checking.
First, she checked who was speaking to her. She made sure that the angel was in fact an angel of the Lord and nothing sinister. After all, the Evil One is also an angel – albeit a fallen one – and his cunning and wiles are of angelic power, meaning that he is more capable of deceiving us than we are capable of overpowering him.
This initial check was carefully done. The Blessed Virgin – after all – did not say very much to the Angel when he appeared to her. In fact, she listened to him silently and waited until he gave his message. And among his first words to the Blessed Virgin the angel said, “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God.’” (Luke 1:30). And how fearful that visit must have been. After all, the Angel would have been amazing to behold and coupled with that, his message was unheard of. Here was the first conception since Adam and Eve where a child would be born without one human parent… Now, we know about modern science and genetics. And we understand how DNA if formed with half the mother’s genetic material and half of the father’s. But imagine Christ – literally half his DNA was formed by His Divine Parent – not indirectly as was the case them I was conceived – but directly, without the input of any biological male.
And knowing the strangeness of this message, the Blessed Virgin continued her checking. She was not checking the accuracy of the statement – rather she was checking HOW to action it according to God’s Will. After all, it was physically impossible and yet she did not speak of that. All she did was CHECK HOW to make it possible.
And when she heard what was to be done, the Blessed Virgin did not react with disbelief or scorn or even a moment of doubt. Instead, she said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.” (Like 1:46-55).
And reading her prayer today, I love her so very much for that!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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