Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word

 

The scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord | USCCB

Today we commemorate the total giving of Mary to God’s plan for our salvation. Today we commemorate her fiat, her “yes,” to the Will of God in her life. In the gospel, we hear that Mary is at first frightened. Suddenly, the archangel, Gabriel, appears to her in her room, and says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.” Then Gabriel goes on to tell Mary that she will be the Mother of the Lord, the Messiah.

Mary is at first startled and surprised. She questioned the angel about how this could happen. Once she gets the answer, her love and openness to the Will of God helps her to respond, “I am the Handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Her whole life was that of prayer and love of God, and when the time came to do something so special, she was ready and willing to do it. She was allowing God to work through her to bring salvation to the world.

We are called to have the same courage that Mary had in doing the Will of God in our own lives. Like Mary we are to be open to God and His plan for us and our lives. She was a prayerful person, who always had God at the center of all that she did. We, too, need to have God at the center of all we do. We do this by our daily acts of prayer, the reading of scripture daily to hear what God is trying to teach us in our lives, and we are to attempt to receive our Lord, Jesus Christ, as often as possible in Holy Communion. Further, we are to live always in the presence of God, knowing that in all our actions throughout the day, God is with us.

Mary knew that by agreeing to say yes to God, her life would become complicated, but she also trusted that God would always be present to her as she lived out her life according to His Will. We, too, are all called to bring the salvation of Christ to those we meet each day. We’re not called to bring Christ into the world as dramatic as Mary did, but we are called to bring Christ to all we meet. We are to do so by the treating others with the love and respect that God expects us to give to all in our lives. By showing this love and respect to others, we are bringing Christ to those that most need to know the love of Christ. Like Mary, we will have our challenges in bringing Christ into this world, but it’s what God is calling us to do.

We may not have an angel to appear and direct us like Mary. But we can pray to our guardian angels and walk by faith, not by sight. When faith sustains us, we are confident that God will never let us down. As God calls us to bring Christ into our world, let us with Mary, pray, “May it be done according to your word.”