Friends,
our Gospel today introduces the most elevated creature:
Mary, the
Mother of God. The Church Fathers often made a
connection between Eve,
the mother of all the living, and Mary,
the Mother of God and Mother of
the Church. In fact, they saw her
as "the new Eve," the one who undid
the damage done by Eve.
The
angel’s greeting to Mary is important here: "Hail Mary, full of
grace."
Mary is greeted as someone who is able to accept gifts. Eve
and Adam
grasped; Mary is ready to receive. And Mary’s reply is
also significant:
"How is this possible, for I do not know man?"
There is nothing cowed
about Mary.
The
angel explains to Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you
and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you…" At the heart
of the
spiritual life is the conviction that your life is not about you.
The
real spiritual life is about allowing oneself to be overwhelmed
by the
one who loves us.
Mary is someone who is ready for the impossible, and this makes her the
paradigm of discipleship. "Let it
be done to me according to thy word."
That’s an acquiescence to adventure.
Bishop Robert Barron
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