True God and True Man - a meditation by St. Josemaria for the Feast of the Annunciation

True God and True Man.

But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman.

As the greatest proof of his love for us, God had his only Son become man to save us from our sins. In this way, Jesus merited for us the dignity of becoming children of God. His arrival signaled the fullness of time. Saint Paul puts it quite literally that Jesus was born of a woman. Jesus did not come to earth as a spirit. He truly became man, like one of us. He received his human nature from Our Lady's immaculate womb. Today's feast, therefore, is really in honor of Jesus and Mary. This is why Fr Luis de ramada has pointed out: It is reasonable to consider, first and foremost, the purity and sanctity of the Woman whom God chose "ab aeterno' to give form to his humanity.

When God decided to create the first man, he first took are to create a fitting environment for him, which was the Garden of Eden. It makes sense, then, that when God made ready to send his Son, the Christ, he likewise prepared for him a worthy environment, namely, the body and soul of the Blessed Virgin.

As we consider the significance of this Solemnity, we find Jesus very closely united to Mary. When the Blessed Virgin said Yes, freely, to the plans revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a human nature: a rational soul and a body, which was formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature and the human were united in a single Person: Jesus Christ, true God and, thenceforth, true Man; the only-begotten and eternal Son of the Father and, from that moment on, as Man, the true son of Mary. This is why Our Lady is the Mother of the Incarnate Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity Who has united our human nature to himself forever, without any confusion of the two natures. The greatest praise we can give to the Blessed Virgin is to address her loud and clear by the name that expresses her very highest dignity: Mother of God.* How many times have we repeated those sweet words: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners...! How many times have we meditated upon this, the first Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary!

This excerpt is the first section of today's meditation from In Conversation with God, Volume 6. Beyond the meditation for the Annunciation, there is also a meditation on the impact of the Incarnation on our lives for the feast! The book is available as both a paperback and an ebook.