Today we hear the beautiful story of the Annunciation. The dialogue between the archangel Gabriel and a virgin called Mary stirs our hearts. Would she not have been so young to make such a momentous decision? Yet, she is humble and courageous in her response. She knows that what the angel is saying is amazing yet she is able to take the message on board and say: "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." (Lk 1: 38) This can be contrasted with Zechariah's defiance when the same angel brought him good news which answered his prayers over so many years. Gabriel tells him: "But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur." (Lk 1: 20) The priest is shown up by the teenager for lack of faith! Let us imitate the Blessed Virgin in her holiness, obedience and courage: "By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity, by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. For in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and mother. By her belief and obedience, not knowing man but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, as the new Eve she brought forth on earth the very Son of the Father, showing an undefiled faith, not in the word of the ancient serpent, but in that of God's messenger. The Son whom she brought forth is He whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, namely the faithful, in whose birth and education she cooperates with a maternal love." (Lumen gentium, 63)
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