Daily reflection _ Mary's YES

MARY'S "YES"
Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all of us.  
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Nothing will be impossible for God! Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. St. Luke tells us that in the sixth month after the conception of St. John the Baptist within Elizabeth, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the Virgin Mary at Nazareth, a small town in the mountains of Galilee. Mary was of the house of David, and was espoused to Joseph, of the same royal family. She had, however, not yet gone to live in the household of her spouse, but was still in her mother's house, working, perhaps, over her dowry. And the angel having taken the figure and the form of a man, came into the house and said to her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Mary, having heard the words of greeting, did not speak; she was troubled in spirit, since she knew not the angel, nor the cause of his coming, nor the meaning of the salutation. And the angel continued and said: "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father - and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever. And of His kingdom there shall be no end." Mary understood that there was question of the coming Redeemer. But why should she be elected from amongst women for the splendid dignity of being the mother of the Messiah, having vowed her virginity to God? (St. Augustine).  Therefore, not doubting the word, but filled with fear and astonishment, she said: "How shall this be done, because I know not man?"
The angel, to remove Mary's anxiety and to assure her that her virginity, which she had vowed to God, would be spared, answered, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
In token of the truth of his word, Gabriel made known to her the conception of John, the miraculous pregnancy of her relative, now elderly and sterile: "And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth; she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: because no word shall be impossible with God." Mary may not yet have fully understood the meaning of the heavenly message and how the maternity might be reconciled with her vow of virginity, but clinging to the first words of the angel and trusting to the omnipotence of God she said: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." This was Mary's "Yes" that continues to resonate down the "arches of the years."
The Annunciation is the incipiency of Jesus in His human nature. Through His mother Mary, He is a member of the human race. About to establish a new generation of "children of God," the Redeemer does not arrive in the way of earthly generations: the power of the Holy Spirit enters the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary, forming the humanity of Christ. Many holy fathers (Sts. Jerome, Ephrem, Augustine) say that the consent of Mary was essential to the Redemption. It was the will of God, St. Thomas says, that the redemption of humankind should depend upon the consent of Mary. This does not mean that God in His plans was bound by the will of a human creature, and that his people would not have been redeemed if Mary had not consented. It only means that the consent of Mary was foreseen from all eternity, and therefore was received as essential into the design of God.
I would like to finish by asking this question for us to ponder this morning: Do we want to live a grace-filled life? God freely lavishes His grace upon all who believe in Him. We see the unfolding of God's plan of redemption in the events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah. Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all of us. Our Father gives grace and He wants us to respond with the same willingness, obedience, and heart-felt trust that Mary had. When God commands, He also gives the grace, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to His grace or resist and go our own way. Do we believe in God's promise and do we yield to His grace?