Blessed is she who believed in the word of the Lord!

"In these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word."  ~Hebrews 1:2-3

"And Mary's "yes" to the will of God, in the obedience of faith, is repeated throughout her life, until the most difficult moment, that of the Cross.

"...how was Mary able to live this path beside her Son with such a strong faith, even in the moments of darkness, without losing full trust in the action of God? There is an underlying attitude that Mary assumes in the face of what happens in her life. At the Annunciation she is disturbed by hearing the angel's words - it is the fear a person feels when touched by the closeness of God - but it is not the attitude of those who are afraid in front of what God may ask. Mary reflects, she ponders the meaning of this greeting (cf. Lk 1:29). The Greek word used in the Gospel to define this 'reflection', 'dielogizeto', evokes the root of the word 'dialogue.' This means that Mary comes into intimate dialogue with the Word of God that has been announced, she does not consider it superficially, but pauses, she lets it her penetrate her mind and her heart to understand what the Lord wants from her, the announcement's meaning. We find another hint of Mary's interior attitude in front of the action of God, again in the Gospel of St. Luke, at the time of the birth of Jesus, after the adoration of the shepherds. Luke affirms that Mary 'treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart' (Lk 2:19), in Greek the term is symballon, we could say that She 'held together', 'put together' in her heart all the events that were happening; she placed each single element, every word, every fact within the whole and compared it, guarded it, recognizing that everything comes from the will of God. Mary does not stop at a first superficial understanding of what happens in her life, but is able to look deeper, she allows herself to be questioned by the events, processes them, discerns them, and gains that understanding that only faith can provide. It is the profound humility of the obedient faith of Mary, who welcomes into herself even what she does not understand of the action of God, leaving it to God to open her mind and heart. 'Blessed is she who believed in the word of the Lord' (Lk 1:45), exclaims her relative Elizabeth. It is precisely because of this faith that all generations will call her blessed." 

 

 ~Pope Benedict XVI, 12/19/12 General Audience

 

Dearest Mary, Virgin of Advent and Mother of the Incarnate Word, today I pray with you:  "In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear.  What can man do to me?"  (Psalm 56:10).  AMEN!