Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Elizabeth Kirkland CahillDecember 08, 2016

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” ~ Lk 1:38

Luke does not tell us exactly what Mary is doing when the angel Gabriel appears, but artists from Italian Fra Angelico in the 15th-century to the British Pre-Raphaelite John William Waterhouse in the 20th-century portray her in quiet reflection, an open book nearby.

Whether she was actually in solitary reverie—an improbable scenario, given the demands daily life placed on the impoverished in ancient Israel—or interrupted in the midst of sweeping the dirt floor or grinding the flour, Mary is receptive to the unexpected messenger. She stops what she is doing and gives Gabriel her full attention. She listens, reflects, questions, listens some more. And at the end of her encounter with the envoy of the living God, she accepts the divine plan for her life, despite not fully understanding its mystery: “How,” she asks Gabriel, “can this be?” The syntax of her assent embodies her surrender to God: in using the passive voice—“Let it be done to me”—she models peaceful acceptance of God’s will.

RELATED: To subscribe to these Advent reflections, sign up here and check "Digital Content Updates." 

In the story of the Annunciation, Mary shows us qualities to seek in our prayer life: receptivity to the divine word, thoughtful reflection and finally, the subordination of our wills to God’s wisdom. We have many dreams and ambitions for our lives; in the end, however, it is not our privilege but God’s to determine our place in the history of salvation. As Jesuit priest Father Alfred Delp wrote during his imprisonment by the Nazis in World War II, “Only by voluntary unreserved surrender to God can we find our home.”

RELATED: Read all of our Advent reflections for 2016

Lord of all creation, Grant that through genuine engagement in prayer I may hear your word and align my will with yours. Amen. 

For today’s readings, click here.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Luis Gutierrez
8 years 4 months ago
If the Virgin Mary brought us the Incarnate Word in her own body, as flesh of her flesh, why is the redeemed body of a baptized woman, of the same flesh, not "proper matter" for priestly ordination? I think that there is a key linkage between Mary's flesh/fiat, Christ's flesh/obedience, and the Eucharist (CCC 773, 973; TOB 21:5-6).

The latest from america

So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica that the Vatican kept the doors open all night.
Gerard O’ConnellApril 24, 2025
A church that dialogues is “much more interesting than a church where things fall from up high,” Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits, said.
Pope Francis releases a dove outside the Basilica of St. Nicholas after meeting with the leaders of Christian churches in Bari, Italy, July 7. The pope met Christian leaders for an ecumenical day of prayer for peace in the Middle East. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
The pope’s attention to migration and climate change were well known, but the pope was also attentive to a number of other global issues and challenges like nuclear disarmament, tax justice, development, and the rise of autonomous (A.I.) weapons systems.
Kevin ClarkeApril 24, 2025
The canonization Mass for the first “millennial saint,” originally scheduled for this Sunday, has been delayed indefinitely.
Connor HartiganApril 24, 2025