Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - “…and the virgin's name was Mary! The first title the Gospel attributes to Mary is “virgin”, because only in virgin, immaculate, soil could the Son of the Father be conceived. The Word of God became Incarnate in the womb of Mary because in Her He found his perfect image. The Lord saw his own reflection in Mary; as a mountain lake reflects the Heavens above it, so that one hardly sees where one ends and the other begins, Mary’s immaculate soul was the perfect reflection of the image of God.
Certainly God is infinitely greater, He is the Creator, she is a creature, but what a perfect creature! Mary, as the Church knows and teaches, was a faultless crystal, absolutely limpid, which reflected perfectly the piercing ray of God’s light. None of the gifts Mary received from God did she keep for herself: her freedom given by the Creator was dedicated to Him, every movement was oriented towards the glory of the Lord. Everything in Mary reflects God. The Incarnation came about because the crystal was ready, the lake was perfectly calm and limpid, and the Image of the Creator could be reflected without the smallest imperfection. There was nothing cloudy in this unique creature, who fascinated the angelical world and fascinated the Archangel Gabriel when, tiptoeing into the room he approached, with full respect for her freedom the Mother elect of the Redeemer, to receive the “yes” for centuries awaited by all creation. Mary alone with her “yes” could bring the Son of God to earth, no one else she alone could draw Him here.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me as you have said”: Mary replies in all freedom to God’s call, as soon she realises this is no human plan but the will of God: at first she asks how, “I have no knowledge of man”, but then when the angel explains she replies immediately “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”. She says handmaid, not Mother. She is the crystal which opens to the piercing ray of God’s light, she gives herself as a limpid mirror of water in which the Heavens can be reflected, and the whole of creation is enchanted!
The feast of the Annunciation, the Incarnation, Mary’s “yes” is a perfect reflection of the Son of God’s ‘yes’ as Pope Benedict XVI said during the recent Angelus: « In fact, Mary's "yes" perfectly mirrors that of Christ himself when he entered the world, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, interpreting Psalm 40[39]: "As is written of me in the book, I have come to do your will, O God" (Heb 10: 7). The Son's obedience was reflected in that of the Mother and thus, through the encounter of these two "yeses", God was able to take on a human face. » (Benedict XVI, Angelus of 25 March 2007).
The date of the 25 March is chosen for various events as a day of entrustment to Mary, for example Pope John Paul II consecrated the world of the Immaculate Heart of March on 25 March 1984. To live as persons consecrated to Mary means learning from the Mother to be “pure of heart”, since only the pure of heart “will see God”. It means walking with her, letting ourselves be purified in heart, mind, lips, body, attitude … by the same light which consecrated Our Lady’s entire existence, the light of the Incarnate Word: “I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8, 12).
The many apparitions of Mary in history, we need only thing of Lourdes, clearly reveal God’s plan: he sends the Mother to prepare the way for Her Son! Immaculate Mary reflects the light of Jesus and, if we allow this light to enter our homes, our work places, our communities and families, our lives will be made new, the light will spread and our longing for Christ will grow. (Agenzia Fides 28/3/2007; righe 49, parole 733)
