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"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word." (St Luke i. 35, 38.)

1st Prelude. Picture of the Annunciation.

2nd Prelude. Grace to meditate more deeply on the First Joyful Mystery.

Point I.– Gabriel's Explanation

In answer to Mary's question, the Angel explains quite simply how God's plans are to be brought about. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee." No prophecy had ever said a word of this; the agency of the Holy Ghost had never been hinted at till the Angel made it known to Mary to quiet her legitimate trouble. And as soon as Mary knew that it was to be the work of the Holy Ghost, she was at rest – all trouble disappeared. Do I follow my Mother's example in this? As soon as I know that whatever is being asked of me is the Holy Spirit's doing, am I at rest? Is there no more trouble, no more indecision, no more questioning, even though the inspiration may seem to be going to upset my plans, and may be contrary to all that has hitherto seemed right? It is not necessary to understandGod's dealings with me, but as soon as I know that they are His dealings, it is necessary to co-operate at whatever cost – otherwise there will be trouble in my soul. The co-operation with the work of the Holy Spirit will produce a calm and a peace which no exterior things, however changed they may be, will have the power to disturb.

And then the Angel tells her about her cousin Elizabeth and the miraculous things which are happening to her, in order to prove to Mary that "no word is impossible with God" – that He, the God of nature, has power over nature's laws – that when he makes such promises as she has just heard, "the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God," all will be fulfilled.

Point II.– Mary's Second Word

Then Mary speaks again: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word." She gives her consent, shows herself ready to co-operate with God; and at the same moment, the Word is made Flesh; Gabriel adores the God-Man, as he had pledged himself to do at the time of the War in Heaven, and, his mission accomplished, departs from her.

St Bernadine calls this second word: "A flame of transforming love" (flamma amoris transformantis). It was certainly love that prompted the word, but in what sense was it a transforming love?

(1) It was a transformation for Mary. Her first word separated her for Him Who loved her; her second word transformed her into Him Who loved her. It made them for ever one. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." Here I am for Thee to do whatever Thou wilt with me. I put no obstacle in Thy way. Fiat. "Be it done to me according to Thy word." This word was not only the outcome and the proof of her perfect union with God, it was also the turning point of her life – and not only of her life but of the life of the whole world. Heaven – and earth too, though unconsciously – was waiting for this word of Mary's, a word which she could have withheld. The word was spoken, and by it she lent herself to God as His co-worker; by it she was transformed from a maid into a mother, and in that moment of transformation she saw all that it meant – she saw Calvary, and she said Fiat. "Be it done to me." She saw herself transformed into the image of Christ (2 Cor. iii. 18) by pain and suffering, and yet she would not withhold her Fiat. Why? Because she loved, and from that moment the transforming process was ever going on in her soul; and the flame of transforming love was ever burning more brightly, showing her the way to greater heights and deeper depths of the love of God, and so transforming her at each further step, that she shrank from nothing.

(2) It was a transformation for the world. This word of Mary's, by which she gave her consent to God's plan of Redemption, changed the face of the whole world. It began a new era – A.D. instead of B.C. It settled the moment of the arrival of the "fulness of time" (Gal. iv. 4) – of God's time. As a result of it, God was already tabernacling among men. The leaven of the Gospel, which was to leaven the whole world, was already beginning to work. Mary's word produced a transformation in the world, and though it "knew Him not," it was never the same world again.

(3) This word is a transformation for the soul which makes it its own. Any soul which really says: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to Thy word," is transformed, for it is "made conformable to the image of His Son." (Rom. viii. 29.) Nothing but love has the power to bring about this transformation in the soul, for it means the effacement of self; it means a readiness to do God's will at whatever cost; it means a holy indifference to one's own plans and theories and even judgment – it means what it says: "Fiat," for everything that God arranges. When this is so there is a complete transformation; the selfish soul becomes selfless; the weak, strong; the timid, courageous; the hesitating, decided; the doubting, confident; the agitated, peaceful and calm. Heaven has already begun in the soul. Love – God's love for it first, and then its love for God – has transformed it.

Are these great things possible for me? Yes, quite possible. How was Mary transformed? By Christ dwelling within her. How was the world transformed? By Christ dwelling within it. And this is how I am to be transformed, by Christ dwelling within me. Each Communion should be to me a "flame of transforming love." It is then that, in answer to the appeal: "My child, give Me thy heart," I say to Him: "Be it done to me according to Thy word," and He comes to do what He will in my heart; and if only I put no obstacles in His way, His love will transform me into all that He wants me to be.

Colloquy with Our Lady, asking her to get me the grace of submission, which alone can transform me.

Resolution. To do nothing to-day to hinder the transforming process in me.

Spiritual Bouquet. "Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ et concepit de Spiritu Sancto."