March 25, 2021

Annunciation of the Lord

Sister Mariana Macedo

SAJ-FSP-from-Pixabay

Behold, a Door Opened …

The feast of the Annunciation of the Lord directs our gaze to the extraordiness of faith. On this feast God meets man, supernature meets nature, greatness meets the smallness. Mary, the immaculately pure one, is the first human person to witness the one and triune God. Through the archangel Gabriel she enters into dialogue with God. She questions and she ponders.

But what touches us most is her answer: “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. – Let it be done to me according to your word.” She wants to participate in God’s plan of salvation and collaborate in the work of redemption.

This is the scope of the encounter that transformed world history and brought the Divine to breakthrough human boundaries. The first door that opened was the heart of the Blessed Mother. Mary courageously risked saying yes.

Today, God does not send us angels, but he allows us to encounter the Divine through doors that he opens for us in each event of everyday life. He calls us by name and invites us to collaborate with him in his plan of love.

Mary did not let herself be captivated by what is easy or to act out of fear. She dared to take the leap guided by faith. We may also be confident that if we cultivate a deep encounter with the Savior and have the courage of the Blessed Mother, our lives will be completely transformed.

According to the words of our Father and Founder, Father Joseph Kentenich, “Mary courageously consented to all the cross and suffering that would later await her. At one moment in time she said her fiat: I am ready. She did not withdraw this fiat her entire life long. In this consists the total greatness and strength of the woman’s soul: fiat. Fiat is the recognition of the almighty, all- good, kind, omnipotent, God above her, and of herself as God‘s handmaid.” (Fr. Joseph Kentenich, September 18, 1929)

And how should we want to answer God?
Are we an open door like the Blessed Mother?
Do we follow this path filled with courageous daring?