“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”
Who having heard, was troubled at his saying.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
These words of the Gospel are so very familiar to us because of their use in the “Hail Mary.” “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee.” We say these words so many times, it becomes easy to pass over them without thinking. And because of its presence in the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, the entire feast of the Annunciation can sometimes seem so familiar to us that we miss the significance of it. I will be the first to admit my guilt in so often failing to marvel at what happened in that crucial moment in history. So let us consider more carefully the words of the Gospel.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Who was Mary? When we speak of Mary we often think of the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, a heavenly intercessor, the first of the saints, the Queen of the Universe. That's who Mary is now; who was Mary then? She was none of that, yet. She was no queen, she was mother to no one; she was just a girl. A simple Jewish girl living in a small town. The fourth-century Protoevangelium of James tells us that she was sixteen years old when the Annunciation occurred. Sixteen. Imagine this teenager who, according to this tradition, was on her way to fill a pitcher with water from the well when suddenly hears a voice saying “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee.”
She was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Why would Mary find this troubling? So far the angel has only told her two things: one, that she if full of grace, and two, that the Lord is with her. Hardly troubling statements! But Mary had good reason to be troubled. Why? Because she knew the Scriptures. Yes, Mary even from a young age knew the Old Testament thoroughly – in fact, the Magnificat, her famous canticle of praise, is what one might call a jazz improvisation on the canticle of Hanna found in the First Book of Samuel.
Mary was greatly troubled by the announcement that the Lord was with her because she knew that these words, “The Lord is with thee,” meant that God was about to do something tremendous!
In the time of the Judges, “The angel of the Lord appeared to [Gideon], and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men,” and after those words were spoken God used Gideon — the youngest of his family and a member of the smallest tribe in all Israel — God used Gideon to free Israel from the oppression of their enemy the Midianites.
At one point King David announces that he is about to build a great Temple to the Lord. David, the youngest son in his father's house and originally just a poor shepherd, is told by God's prophet Nathan, “Go, do all that is in thy heart: because the Lord is with thee.” David's dream of a great Temple to the Lord would be realized by his son Solomon, ushering in a new age in the history of Israel where God's people would now have a magnificent structure in which to worship their magnificent God.
The Spirit of God came upon the prophet Azarias, who told Solomon's great-grandson King Asa, “Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, because you have been with Him.” Asa would then usher in a period of reform, destroying many of the pagan idols in the land.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a little town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a sixteen-year-old virgin whose name — was Mary.
“The Lord is with thee, Gideon, O most valiant of men”
“Go, David, do all that is in thy heart: because the Lord is with thee.”
“Hear me, King Asa: the Lord is with thee.”
“Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”
When Mary heard those words come from the mouth of the angel, she knew she was standing on the threshold of a new era in human history. And indeed, she was!
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever!
And of his Kingdom there will be - no - end.
Mary knew that immediately following her assent, everything would change, the whole world be turned upside-down.
... ... “Behold — I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
“The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men,” and Gideon freed Israel from their enemy. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” and Christ destroyed the last enemy, death.
“Go, do all that is in thy heart: because the Lord is with thee,” and David's son built a great Temple to the Lord. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” and Mary's Son opened the great sanctuary of Heaven to all who believe.
“Hear me, Asa, the Lord is with thee,” and the pagan idols were removed from the land. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” and pagans from every land were removed from their former way of life, and brought to faith in the Son of God.
Truly the words of Scripture are deep beyond comprehension! May God grant us the grace always to consider these things as we meditate upon the mystery of the Annunciation in the Holy Rosary, and may He grant us also great fervor as we pray to this woman who knew God's word, who said “May it be done to me according to your word,” and through whom the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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