In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“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, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
What kind of greating is this? in a word it is her name (in heaven)! Names are really important. To name something is to declare authority over it. In the bible when God calls one the fathers to lead His church he gives them a new name. This is God claiming authority over the person, but it is also giving us a view into heaven. When God created your soul, He spoke a word, and you came to be. That word is your heavenly name. It represents who you are, all that you will do, and all that God wills for your life.
Abram was renamed Abraham, which means father of many. Jacob was renamed isreal, which means struggles with god, and Simon was renamed peter, which means rock. There are many more examples and they are all wonderfully insightful for understanding these figures in the bible and what God willed for them.
Mary’s name in heaven is full of grace. Can you think of a more perfect name for her, she was born without stain of sin, because she was given this grace, as a beloved daughter of God. She was espoused to the Holy Spirit and through the grace of the holy spirit, she concieved. And she became the mother of Jesus and carried the incarnate Lord in her womb for 9 months. She then raised Him, and loved Him and finally watched Him be sacraficed for the salvation of the world.
She could not have done any of these things without Gods grace, and being totally and completely open to that grace in every aspect of her life. This is why we show Mary reverence. She was the best of us, modeling for all mankind how to be truly human. Let us never forget this, and to never stop looking to her for help and guidance. She will always lead you to Jesus.
So stop today and say “ave maria, gratia plena.” That is her name, and that is who she is to God, and will always be.
Second Reflection: But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
Mary’s words today are almost exactly the same words as Zechariah spoke when he was told about the miraculous birth of John. But Mary trusted completely, and was obedient, she truly just did not understand how it could happen.
I however, find it more remarkable that a young girl, still a child to most of the world, could have the pressence of mind to contemplate these momentus things being proposed to her, and ultimately saying yes. Mary is a model for all of us in that most of the things that God asks of us are inconcievable, but by cooperating with Gods will is far better than fighting against it.
Imagine gods will as a huge tidal wave. Nothing can stop it, or slow it down. If you fight against it, or sit there motionless trying to understand it, you will get crushed by it when it breaks on you. But if you get on your surfboard, and paddle along with it, cooperating with it, you might just have the greatest ride of your life, and you might just do something miraculous.
Mary teaches us this lesson of trust, that she recognize the hugeness of God, and her littleness, and even though she didnt understand what God is asking of her, she said yes, and her cooperation with God has brought about the incarnation. The most incredible thing that has ever happened in this world. God, creator of the universe, became a tiny embryo inside Mary ‘s womb. How is that possible, we dont know, God knows, but because Mary cooperated, it happened.
So we need to live by Mary’s example, and follow her simple humility, and maybe we too, will be able to also do something truly incredible like she die.
Third Reflection: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
What humility and trust that this must have taken for Mary to respond this way. She was just a child but more faithful to God than any of us. Mary is a model for how we need to live our lives, completely surrendering and completely trusting. She was free to say no, God would not have punished her for saying no, but He had given Mary the most amazing gift of freedom from sin, and in her total devotion to God made it evident that she would not have said anything but yes. And this yes became the gateway for all of mankind to be saved and redeemed. This yes opened the door for Jesus, God of the universe to become incarnated as man. Jesus was fully man and fully divine, he always maintained his divine nature as the second member of the holy trinity, but he got his human nature from Mary.
It was not required that Jesus come into the world this way but it was fitting. If the Lord of the universe is to show us how He intends us to live, what better way than to become man and live a life, showing and teaching us by example.
Mary’s humble little yes, literally changed the universe. Let us all aspire to say yes to God as well, and if we all do this, we too, will indeed change the world.
