March 25, 2009: Solemnity of Annunciation of Our Lord

If Archangel Gabriel was to appear to Mary in our own day, what would they look like? I found this interesting painting (left) on the internet. It shows Gabriel appearing to a suburban teenage girl. She's wearing a sky-blue dress, reading a book. A lily in front of her represents her purity and virginity. We are used to more vivid and other-worldly images of the Annunciation.
But what did it really look like way back when?

Two months ago, I got to visit Nazareth, Israel and say mass at a basilica built on top of the original childhood home of Blessed Virgin Mary. This basilica was built on top of the ruins of Byzantine and Crusader era churches. The present basilica was finished in 1969. It has an upper level and a lower level. Upper level is where they televise the Christmas Midnight mass every year. The dome of the upper church is designed to appear as an upside-down lilly--a traditional symbol of purity and virginity. The lower level tried to preserve the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches as well as the Holy Grotto marking the childhood home of Blessed Virgin Mary.

As I celebrated mass near the Grotto, I was brought back to the day of my priestly ordination, the day when I said, 'Yes' to God. I placed my folded hands into the Bishop's hands and vowed obedience, celibacy, and promised to live a simple life.

Bishop: "Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the salvation of his people, and to unite yourself more closely to every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father as a perfect sacrifice?"

Priesthood Candidate: "I am, with the help of God."

This promise bears similarity to the words that Bishop speaks to confirmation candidates. In the homily, the Bishop says something similar to the following:

"You have already been baptized into Christ and now you will receive the power of His Spirit and the sign of the cross on your forehead. You must be witnesses before all the world to His suffering, death, and resurrection; your way of life should at all times reflect the goodness of Christ. Christ gives varied gifts to His Church, and the Spirit he distributes them among the member of Christ’s body to build up the holy people of God in unity and love. Be active members of the Church, alive in Jesus Christ. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit give your lives completely in the service of all, as did Christ, who came not to be served but to serve."

With our 'Yes,' the Holy Spirit does something new through us. For priests, our hands become instrument of God's forgiveness and to make truly present Jesus through Eucharist. For all of us, our 'Yes,' make present the gifts of the Holy Spirit through our words and actions.

Blessed Mother did not foresee what her 'Yes' entailed. Before answering Gabriel did she foresee how much both joy and suffering she would experience through raising her child? No. Did I foresee what kind of blessings and challenges I would experience through priesthood down the road? No. Likewise, we don't pick and choose things we want from God. We let God decide what He desires for us to experience--both joys and sufferings. In its essence, our 'Yes,' to God is simple in words as Blessed Mother's response, "May it be done to me according to your word." What this simple phrase requires, however, is a radical gift--a total gift of self to God.

"Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender itall to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more." (St. Ignatius of Loyola)