Fiat!

Ave Maria! On Saturdays, we Catholics have a lovely custom of honoring our Blessed Mother as we dedicate our day especially to her who is so full of grace. Sometimes we complain that the Scriptures contain so few incidents about her, so little words of hers. "If only we knew more!" we cry out in our desire to penetrate more deeply into the heart and soul of Our Lady. This morning as I was contemplating her fiat, her total YES! to God and His will for her, it occurred to me that what the Word of God does tell us about Mary is more than sufficient.

Mary's fiat alone speaks volumes about what it meant to her to be the Handmaid of the Lord and the Mother of Christ. Fiat is a Latin word which means "be it done" or "yes, I accept." Mary said "let it be to me according to your word" (Lk1:38). The angel Gabriel had spoken to her, and her agreement to his word was her yes to God's word, to God's will and plan for her, to God's wisdom and and goodness, to His love and mercy. Her fiat was the gift of her total being in faith and love, in gratitude and praise. It was her complete surrender to her God and her all. She kept nothing for herself. She was all trust and abandonment, all openness and obedience. Fiat was Mary's word to God's Word. "By her conduct," Pope John Paul II said in his general audience of 9/18/96, "Mary reminds each of us of our serious responsibility to accept God's plan for our lives." Mary's fiat must become ours.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me that I may make your fiat my own as I strive to lovingly accept God's will for me today and every day. Amen.