Because Mary Said “Yes…” — A Reflection For The Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord

SaltAndDignity ^ | March 25, 2015 | Fr. Thomas Rosica

[Steelfish]

Because Mary Said “Yes…” — A Reflection For The Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord

March 25, 2011 by Fr. Thomas Rosica

Standing in the middle of the present day city of Nazareth is the mammoth Basilica of the Annunciation, built around what is believed to be the dwelling of Mary. In a grotto-like room at the heart of the basilica is a small inscription on an altar. It reads, “verbum caro hic factum est,” here the Word became flesh. There, it is believed, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, and her response changed the world forever.

Imagine yourself in Mary’s place, asked to say “yes” to a divine plan so vast, so profound and so seemingly impossible that you cannot comprehend it. “How can this be?” she asks, bewildered. She is rooted in the faith of her ancestors, and yet now an angel has appeared in the midst of everyday life, extending a startling invitation. “You have found favor with God,” the angel says, “and you will conceive and bear His Son.” Will she accept?

It is Mary above all others who can teach us what it means to live by faith, and how to respond when God’s providence disrupts the daily course of our lives, overturning its rhythms and expectations. Despite her fears and uncertainty over how this promise could be fulfilled, she still answered “Yes.” Are we able to respond to God this way?

When we reflect on the Annunciation to Mary, and her acceptance of the angel’s message, we also reflect on our own vocation — our own calling from God. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” — an echo of Mary’s “Be it done unto me according to your word.”

Each time we commit ourselves to embracing God’s call and accepting His will, we mark a new point on the path of our relationship with Him. For the rest of her life, Mary pondered her extraordinary encounter with God, turning the weight of the angel’s message over and over again in her heart. From the manger to the cross, Mary’s life was radically changed — her relationship with God profoundly deepened — the moment she said “Yes.”

Mary received and welcomed God’s Word in the fullest sense — becoming impregnated with it, and bearing it to the world. Angels might not appear in our doorsteps, but we do encounter God in each of our daily prayers, and he whispers to us a similar invitation: Will we accept His love and bring it joyously to those around us? Will we trust in His providence, even when we can’t see the path ahead? Amid the noise of everyday life, will we listen for and embrace his call?

When making his pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Annunciation, Pope Benedict XVI offered this prayer to the humble Virgin of Nazareth. It speaks for all of us who likewise seek to accept God’s will with joy:

Mary, Mother of the “Yes,” you listened to Jesus, and know the tone of his voice and the beating of his heart. Morning Star, speak to us of him, and tell us about your journey of following him on the path of faith."

[vladimir998]

“God never said He would be a God to Ishmael.”

He did to Abraham. Muslims say they worship the God of Abraham.

“He said He would be a God to Isaac.”

And Abraham before him. Muslims say they worship the God of Abraham.

“serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I do not serve the same god as the Muslims.”

So the God of Abraham is not the God of Abraham - that’s what you’re saying.

[Boogieman]

“Protestant’s have no business telling Catholics what is God’ Word.”

I’m sure that you’d rather have us leave you comfortable in your ignorance, but God doesn’t give us that option. He didn’t ask our assent as to whether we want to share the Gospel, or reprove other Christians when they err, He commanded those things.

[vladimir998]

“I know Jews do.. and Christians do... But Mohammedans DO NOT.”

Muslims say they do. It seems your argument is with them.

[vladimir998]

“these profess to hold the faith of Abraham”

See that word “profess”?

Yeah.

[vladimir998]

“Projection is an ugly thing.”

And Protestant anti-Catholics do something similar every time they falsely claim we worship Mary. Learn from that.

[vladimir998]

“say”

“I see”

Finally.

[vladimir998]

“You can’t include Jews in the mix...”

I did. It’s done.

[vladimir998]

“A “church” that can’t differentiate between the God of scripture and the god that Muslims serve is surely NOT the “church” that Christ instituted.”

A “Christian” who can’t see and understand the word “profess” is doomed to post anti-Catholic posts on FR showing his or her ignorance.

[vladimir998]

“Show me the Scripture then.”

First, show me the scripture that says all truths are in scripture. If you fail at that (which is guaranteed) then you’ll know why not all truths are in scripture.

In the meantime:

http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/charts/Mary%20the%20Ark%20of%20the%20New%20Covenant.htm

http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/mary-the-ark-of-the-new-covenant

http://www.stpeterslist.com/2022/4-biblical-reasons-mary-is-the-new-ark-of-the-covenant/

http://www.theorthodoxfaith.com/mary-as-the-new-ark-of-the-covenant/

http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/lesson/queen_the_ark_of_the_new_covenant

[ealgeone]

The offenders won't even call her "Blessed"....

This illustrates the problem....roman catholicism has taken this adjective and made it into a title.

It is just one of many examples where roman catholicism has built up Mary to something that she's not accorded in the Word.

[CynicalBear]

Far be it from me to stop you from believing in the same god as the Muslims.

[Boogieman]

Right, you’ve got no scriptural support then, which means, as I said before, you’re just spinning fables told by men.

[DungeonMaster]

You may shed some light here. I suspected much of the opposition is primarily due to something being considered "Catholic."

Redefining blessed: To receive a blessing from the Lord. It is a blessing to find a good wife or to be able to share the gospel. It is a blessing to have a nice day at word or to have your kids do something good that makes you proud. It would be quite a blessing to be healed by the apostle Paul. It would be quite a blessing to actually have seen and heard an apostle teach. What a blessing it would be to have actually seen the Lord.

To the Catholic church to be blessed is to: Be immaculately conceived, co redeemer, co mediator, dispenser of all graces, received bodily in heaven, ever virgin, possessor of 1000 names, etc etc etc.

So that makes it hard to even agree on a simple point. Catholics redefine and create language that would be infinitely better left in God's words as in the bible.

[Springfield Reformer]

Criminal law is predicated on certain rights of the individual, as well as elements of the social contract, the collective benefits of deterrence, etc.  It is impossible for God to violate any human right.  He is the grantor of all rights.  They have no other source. Else God is not God. He is, by definition, the cause of our value, and the value is primarily to Him, and only secondarily to each other. In other words, we do not murder, not because it is inherently wrong for human beings to die, but because we are peers, and do not have authority to cause the death of another, unless that authority is delegated to us by God.  For example, we have a right to kill another in self-defense. But without such delegated authority, we are only peers, and no one of us has any authority to take another's life, and so we must constantly engage in sometimes complex balancing of rights (both criminal and civil) to provide the most just outcome possible.  

But God is not our peer.  This is a common, albeit unstated premise in much atheist thought, and I was much afflicted by it before my conversion to faith in Jesus.  God, as a construct, is viewed not as Creator but as simply Other, a bigger stronger someone else who has no right to tell us what to do, or do anything with us we do not like, as if we and He were on an equal footing in terms of autonomy. But man before God is not autonomous. Man has moral freedom, but he is accountable for the use of that freedom to his Creator.  

Therefore, it is impossible to condemn God's action under any construct of human law.  Criminal law presumes the defense of rights among peers, the fundamental assumption being the value of each person and therefore the sustainability of their right to live, to own property, to control their own body, etc.    But God enters the equation before all that.  He is not some coequal peer, only bigger and stronger. We are the product of His creative act, created for His purposes, not our own.  None of us asked Him for permission to come into being.  He made it happen because that is what He wanted to do. By His permission only can we breath.  By the sustaining power of His word alone do we even have the power of thought or choice. There is no area of our being, even our value as persons, including our rights, that does not depend utterly on Him.  He cannot be judged by us.  We do not have standing to make that kind of judgment.  

Yet after all that, what we see in Mary is not resistance, but obedience, acceptance of God as Creator.  She did not contest His absolute authority.  He cannot be charged with violating her will, because her will was in compliance with His will.  She did not have to say yes to grant God permission He already had by right as the Creator.  But she did agree with God to see it through, because she understood He not only had the raw authority, but also because He could be trusted, that given His perfection of holiness, this was the best possible thing that could happen. She trusted in His inherent goodness.  An excellent example for all of us to follow when the will of God takes us to unexpected places.  He is good, and worthy of our praise at all times.

Peace,

SR

[HossB86]

Muslims say they do. It seems your argument is with them.

Having issues refuting the argument? Nice tactic, but pretty lame. And transparent.

It's YOUR church/cult that agrees with THEM. So... my argument is with Roman Catholicism which you are trying to defend.

So... do you agree with the Catechism of the Catholic Church? It teaches that the god worshipped by Muslims is the same as that worshipped by Catholics. That;s my question to YOU.

C'mon. Just try to answer it... it's simple, really -- either you agree with the CCC or you don't! Is it THAT hard to type either "yes" or "no" ?

Hoss

[HossB86]

See that word “profess”?

Yeah.

Take a gander at this:

"841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

Yeah. Yeah.

So? Do you agree? Do you, as a Roman Catholic, along with the Muslims adore the "one, merciful God"?

You can "profess" all you want - I'm asking about 'acknowledging' and 'adoring' -- do you AGREE with ROME that teaches that Catholics and Muslims adore the same God?

Can't you answer simply "yes" or "no"?

Hoss

[HossB86]

And Protestant anti-Catholics do something similar every time they falsely claim we worship Mary. Learn from that.

But Roman Catholics DO worship Mary! This thread is absolutely gravid with examples!

I'm no projecting anything; all I'm doing is helping to point out the hypocrisy and apostasy of Roman Catholicism's cult.

And projecting is still an ugly thing.

Hoss

P.S. -- do you agree with the CCC 841 or not? It's easy: yes or no!

[HossB86]

“A “church” that can’t differentiate between the God of scripture and the god that Muslims serve is surely NOT the “church” that Christ instituted.”

How true -- and that is EXACTLY the predicament in which the Roman Catholic Church finds itself this very day. A “Christian” who can’t see and understand the word “profess” is doomed to post anti-Catholic posts on FR showing his or her ignorance.

Following your lead on this one. I'm still waiting to see if you 'acknowledge' and 'adore' the same "God" as the Muslims do since that is what is taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Hoss

[vladimir998]

Far be it from me to stop you from believing in the same God of Abraham Muslims, Jews and Christians profess belief in.

[vladimir998]

“Right, you’ve got no scriptural support then, which means, as I said before, you’re just spinning fables told by men.”

And in regard to you showing me the scripture that says all truths are in scripture I can say the same thing to you. Are you familiar with the word “hypocrite”?