Her hidden interior of heart, mind and soul was ready to accept the meaning of these words, yet her senses caused her perplexity. Mary could well experience this, since Jesus Christ also experienced the same. Jesus says, Now my soul is troubled (John 12:27). He too knew astonishment in his senses.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30–33)
The angel says, Do not be afraid, Mary. What do you fear, Mary? The approach of this angel? Yet the virgin is not afraid. To the contrary, she is very welcoming, because she is not filled with scruples that would make her sin against the will of God. The angel says not to be afraid because she has found favor with God. He says this for two reasons. First, to show her to what a high degree that she has been elevated for all humanity and that this gift is freely given to her. This is done to her by the grace of God and not for any proper merit of her own. God out of his goodness and kindness has chosen her out of many. God raises Mary in a wonderful way. This is the truth that she confirms when she says, The Lord has done great things for me. “This is why the nations will call me blessed. I am blessed only because of what the Lord has done in me and nothing that I have done myself.”
Secondly, the angel told Mary not to be fear because of God’s great grace which is entirely pure of the malice and corruption of Adam.
Finally, she has nothing to fear even in these most dangerous things because of her innocence. And to increase her astonishment, he says something even more surprising that the virgin cannot even comprehend: You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. The angel does not say that the child is the Son of God whom she will conceive and bear. Gabriel preserves her in the will of God because in this moment, Mary is entirely present, without imperfections and self-will. The angel tells her that she will bear the Son who will be great, but he does not say that he is the Christ, but he will be called the Son of the Most High.
The angel tells her also about the Son’s life in time and history: he will reign on the throne of David forever. To take these words and promises literally, Mary must believe that she will be the mother of the king of Israel and of Judah, and that Jesus will truly reign as David did in an external way. The words of God must be interpreted in an interior and spiritual way, otherwise we would see Jesus in his poor and afflicted state and think that the promises of the angel were not true. Though David was the father and ancestor of Jesus Christ, he showed the future image of Jesus Christ as King and Pastor. God gives Jesus Christ the throne of David and the rights of a legitimate pastor who must lead his flock Israel to green pastures. This excellent pastor leads with strength. He has the right to reign over the house of Jacob over abandoned souls, like David did in an external way. Jesus Christ reigns in an interior way. We must let Jesus Christ rule as King over our hearts and to let him lead as a Pastor because it is for this that he came into the world. His reign is forever because he will reign through eternity with strength. He holds us in the present and we begin eternity already. It is so easy to let Jesus reign; we only have to stop ruling ourselves.
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)
The question Mary asks is not one of doubt or refusal because she wants to be ready to do the thing that God asks of her. She wants to know if her way of life must change. She is ready to accomplish the will of God and wants to know if she needs to do something differently.
The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
The angel tells Mary that she has nothing to do on her part to accomplish this great mystery. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, says the angel to Mary. But how is this to be done? It will come in a specific way and will not commune with any other. The Most High will overshadow you. But does the angel talk about light? Oh, it is because this light is so excessive, the light will appear like a shadow. Mary will be covered with this shadow and this shadow will make her fertile. These will be virtues of the Most High and the work of the all-powerful God. This is why Mary speaks of the mystery that God will accomplish with all the power of divine arms. It is necessary that this be done through the operations of the virtues and power of God. This holy one, in whom all holiness and righteousness is found, will be called the Son of God. For this is not the work of human beings, but is the production of the Holy Spirit.
The mystical incarnation comes from God’s strength and not from human beings. The Holy Spirit comes in her soul with the infinite fullness and fertility of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is always fertile. As the Bible says, God rested on the waters and they became very fertile. Genesis 1:2 reads, The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the water. Genesis 1:20 reads, And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” The Father and the Son communicate life through their life-giving warmth and give fertility to all things. God gave fertility to Mary by the Word present in her to do his work. The Holy Spirit produces the Word in souls and makes them fruitful. The Holy Spirit comes into an annihilated soul and by his life-giving fire, he sows the life of the Word in the soul, making a mystical incarnation, which takes place only when the power of the Most High covers the soul with its shadow. This soul loses all her own proper self-virtue, but she is under the shadow of divine virtue, that covers, guards, and defends her. The Holy Spirit acts as a shadow holding her in obscurity as everything happens within her. This is why all of God’s operations born in the soul are done in a particular manner making her good and holy. This is also how Jesus Christ is formed in her by the operation of the Holy Spirit in a mystical manner. Paul also assures us of this, My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19).
“And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:36–37)
How poor, blind, and confused we are when we want to set and give limits to the divine power! If something surpasses human understanding, we declare it impossible. We want to regulate the will of God and his power by a science that is truly ignorant. Nothing is impossible to God. This is why a soul with the profound light of God is surprised by nothing; she judges and condemns nothing. Because she believes that in an instant God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9). True faith never doubts or hesitates because she knows that God would not be God if he depended only on human understanding.
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)
Here God does a wonderful thing! God is so powerful that nothing may resist his will. However, he does not first ask for anything particular and extraordinary from the creature, but he only asks for their contentment. God considers the freedom of the human being and never violates this standard. God works freely and infallibly. God wants to operate the mystery of the incarnation in Mary for the salvation of all humanity through the contentment of Mary. In this particular person, God works his mystery and reconciles the affairs of the whole human race. She expresses her contentment: Here am I, the servant of the Lord, she says, and I will obey him without resistance. He will be pleased with me and he will care for the salvation of humanity, by accomplishing his Word and the promises given for our favor. Contentment is absolutely necessary for the freedom of the human being because God wants his salvation accomplished as a free and voluntary choice. Although we are not meriting or making this salvation, we must consent that the Word is formed within us. He lives within us; he governs, acts and operates within us. There are some who say, “Why
