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| Annunciation (1894) - James Tissot - The Brooklyn Museum |
I am the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.
The shutter banged against the house in the wind, or so it seemed to the young woman n the small house. But she looked out the window and the trees were not moving. And then she felt his presence. Then she saw him with his wings, and she became frightened. His words came slowly and silently like a song, as if silent words could be a song. But she hears the words and their meaning confused her. How can this be? Why should he be saying these words to her? She almost wished that she were not here. She wished he was not saying these things. And then she heard the question addressed to her out of the silent song. A question that came beyond space and time, a question that was posed to her very being, but yet not a question, for she was being asked to choose to do this, this which was beyond her comprehension, and she was aware of her entire body as never before, she was intensely aware of physical reality, of the room, of everything in it, she was aware that the whole universe had stopped breathing, every nebula, every atom, all creation had stilled for this place and time, this instant, creation in suspension. And then, out of the stillness of the room and out of something deep in her, she felt a stirring that flooded her whole self, which pierced her fear and her awe. And with great and quiet strength she said, Yes. Let it be done to me according to thy word.
He left her then, and she sat there for a long time and she sang. She sang because she had experienced and understood what it meant to be free, what it meant to be filled with grace. And her Fiat, her ‘let it be done’, rang out through the whole universe, It resonated with the frequency of every atom and photon, and the promise of redemption sang in each particle of matter, in each flavor of quarks, and the whole creation trembled, longed, groaned and rejoiced.
And so we come here to celebrate the Annunciation, this great festival of our redemption, this day that marks the beginning of our redemption, the beginning of the redemption of the whole creation, the day on which God took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The infinite is enclosed in the small, dark space of Mary’s womb, the God who empties himself out and becomes one of us, becomes one of us to redeem us, he who is without sin redeems us who are imprisoned by sin and death.
It is a wonderful thing that we celebrate this great feast in the season of Lent, when we focus on how Christ saved us from sin and death by his suffering and death on the Cross. For the point of our fasting and praying and sacrificing ourselves so that we can give to others in need: the whole point is to remember that God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. It was not that long ago that we celebrated the great festival of Christmas. We know it as a season of jo: Joy, to the world, the Lord has come! We celebrate the birth of the baby that Mary carried in her womb and who was born in a stable, and the angels sang at this birth, and the shepherds came to adore Him and the Wise Men traveled a long distance to do homage to the new-born King. And in just a few weeks we will enter into what we call Holy Week, when we remember and celebrate how Christ saved us from sin and death: Palm Sunday, Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem to die on the Cross, Holy Thursday, when we remember when Christ, at the Last Supper, gave his disciples his Body and Blood under the forms of bread and wine. Good Friday, when we remember our Lord’s suffering and death on the Cross, for you and for me. And part of that remembrance is remembering that Mary stood at the Cross watching her Son suffer and die, she who carried him in her womb, she who nurtured him, raised him, she stood there joined to him in the bond of love, mother and Son.
And then we will celebrate the greatest feast of all: Easter. It is the greatest feast because Jesus rose from the dead and in that stupendous act makes it possible for you and me, who will die, to live with Him forever. But this is not automatic, it is not some sort of reward for being Catholic. Our entrance into eternal life with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit depends on our faith, our Catholic faith. But this does not mean just going through the motions of what it means to be a Catholic. It means to live a life whose center is love, and this is not love in general but sacrificial love, that giving of yourself to others, that is the mark of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Remember Mary’s words” Ecce ancilla Domini. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.. Let it be done to me according to Thy word.
Our Lady of the Annunciation, pray for us.
