The angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Mary was troubled
at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.
But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and
bear a son; and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the
Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the
people of Jacob forever; and his reign shall have no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative,
Elizabeth, is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she
is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”
Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.
” And the angel left her.
Reflect:
The totally unexpected and unheard-of news that angel Gabriel brought to young Mary evoked
several reactions in her. Mary was troubled at heart; she wondered what was in store for her. She
had honest doubts. In all probability, she would not have fully grasped the explanation given by the
angel. Yet, at the end of it all, she trusted God. She surrendered. Unlike Adam and Eve who hid
their nakedness from God, she bared her soul before God and then said, “so let it be.” One may
the grace of the immaculate conception that she was gifted with enabled her to respond the way
she did. But the truth is, we are no very different: the grace given to her at the conception was given
to us at our baptism. The same grace can empower us to say ‘yes’ to God’s will, unless we choose
otherwise. May Mother Mary help us say amen to God’s will.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022