The angel spoke three times. First, he showed the deepest reverence for Mary; and to this she answered nothing but, disturbed in mind, pondered much and waited. Then he announced the great message with which he had been entrusted; and to this Mary replied by quietly asking “How?” Finally, he explained the work of the Blessed Trinity in her. She had a unique understanding, for she was steeped in the Scriptures, as we have seen from many infallible signs; by a special grace of God and by her own incomparable innocence of soul, she was endowed with special clearness of vision; by exercise in the school of prayer, she possessed in the fullest degree that “spiritual understanding” so much prized by St. Paul. Mary was the first to hear and to grasp the great revelation of the New Gospel, the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and the Incarnation.
Her answer is prompt and decisive. There is no hesitation, such as even any other saint might have. Each word is full of meaning. Her readiness and joy in making herself the instrument of the designs of God are shown in her first word: “Behold!” Her profound humility reveals itself in the term she uses to characterize herself: “the handmaid of the Lord.” This word also conveys her reason for consenting. Even though great was the honor, wonderful the grace, and glorious the station on earth and in heaven to which she was invited, she accepted them for no other reason than because such was the will of God, her Lord and Master. The words “Be it done unto me” show her marvelous faith. The angel had not said she was to do this or that, but that her role was passive, though willingly so, in the execution of the great mystery. Her last expression, “according to your Word,” shows her faith and humility, as well as her joy that the work was to be accomplished in a way that increased, rather than diminishing or impairing, the glory of her chastity.
This “Fiat” of Mary is more than her own word. It is the conclusion and fulfillment of all her longings, as well as the longings of all the holy souls that had preceded her since the days of Eve. “Let it be done, let it be done,” had been the prayer of all the ages, and she at last says the word that becomes the “Amen” of the litany. She speaks in the name of all the world, in the name of all creation; by her “Fiat,” she accepts on their behalf the union with God for which all creation yearns, as St. Paul says. She stands between heaven and earth, linking them together, the channel God has chosen to pass from his throne to the cottages of Men, the Mother of Divine Grace, the cause of our joy—and all because she had the simplicity, and therefore the unconscious courage, to accept the call of him who loved her: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Thy Word.”
This excerpt is from The Prince of Peace by Albian Goodier.
