나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

December 12

Feast: Our Lady of Guadalupe (과달루페의 동정 마리아 축일)

1st Reading: Zechariah 2:14-17

Third vision: the measurer
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[14] Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the
midst of you, says the Lord. [15] And many nations shall join themselves to the
Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and
you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. [16] And the Lord will
inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem."

[17] Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy
dwelling.

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Commentary:

2:1-13. What the prophet now sees and hears concerns the city of Jerusalem. It
is going to be remodeled as an open city, without walls; its defence will be provi-
ded by God himself and therefore more people will be able to live there. The man
with the measuring line is an angel, as are the other two figures mentioned. The
idea of measuring the city in order to rebuild it is also found in Ezekiel 40-42 and
Jeremiah 21:38-40 and, later, Revelation 11:1.

The vision is followed by an oracle (vv. 6-10) in which the Lord speaks through
the angel. He invites the Jews to leave Babylon and return to the holy land. This
is a call that is also found in Isaiah and Jeremiah (cf. Is 48:20); Jer 50:8; 51:6). It
could be that some were reluctant to move. God promises that in Judah they will
be safe from other nations because they are his beloved people, the "apple of his
eye" (v. 8), and his angel will defend them. Moreover, he will settle there, and ma-
ny nations will become his people (vv. 10-11).

Presence of the Lord, security against enemies and a way for the nations to be-
come people of God – these are the features that Judah and Jerusalem will have
following the return from exile. In this sense, they prefigure the Church. Com-
menting on v. 4, St Jerome points out: "Reading in a spiritual sense, all of these
things are to be found in the Church, which is 'without walls', or, as the Septua-
gint puts it, 'katakarpos'; that is, filled with an abundance of fruit and a great mul-
titude of men and asses […]. The men and the asses [cattle, animals] stand for
the two people, the Jews and the Gentiles; those who came to faith in Christ
through the fulfillment of the Law are called men; we, however, who were idola-
trous and lived as though in a wilderness, being far from the Law, and alone, be-
cause of our distance from the prophets who suffered, are the asses […]. But
these animals hear the voice of the good shepherd, and know him, and they fol-
low him" (Commentarii in Zachariam, 2, 4).

2:10. This call for rejoicing, similar to that made by the prophet Zephaniah (cf.
Zeph 3:14) and one made later (9:9), is repeated in the angel Gabriel's greeting
to the Blessed Virgin when he tells her that she is to conceive the Messiah (cf.
Lk 1:28). That event will truly bring about what is said here, for Mary is "the mo-
ther of him in whom 'the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily' (Col 2:9)" ("Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church", 722). Bl. John Paul II sees Mary, the Mother of
the Redeemer,prefigured in the title "daughter of Zion" found here: "Her presence
in the midst of Israel -- a presence so discreet as to pass almost unnoticed by
the eyes of her contemporaries -- shone very clearly before the Eternal One, who
had associated this hidden 'daughter of Sion' (cf. Zeph. 3:14; Zeph. 2:10) with the
plan of salvation embracing the whole history of humanity" ("Redemptoris Mater",
3).

2:13. The "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2143, interprets the silence as
one "of loving adoration". This is the attitude that all will have when they see what
God will do for Judah and Jerusalem; for Christians, it is the attitude they will have
towards the incarnation, passion, death and resurrection of our Lord and towards
what God does for his Church.

2nd Reading: Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

The Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet
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[19] Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was
seen within his temple.

The Woman Fleeing from the Dragon
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[1] And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with
the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; [2] she was
with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. [3] And
another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads
and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. [4] His tail swept down a third
of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before
the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when
she brought it forth; [5] she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the
nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
[6] and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by
God.

[10] And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.

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Commentary:

19. The seer introduces the heavenly temple (the location par excellence of God's
presence), paralleling the earlier mention of the temple of Jerusalem (cf. 11:1-2).
The opening of the temple and the sight of the Ark of the Covenant show that the
messianic era has come to an end and God's work of salvation has been comple-
ted. The ark was the symbol of Israel's election and salvation and of God's pre-
sence in the midst of his people. According to a Jewish tradition, reported in 2
Maccabees 2:4-8, Jeremiah placed the ark in a secret hiding place prior to the
destruction of Jerusalem, and it would be seen again when the Messiah came.
The author of the Apocalypse uses this to assure us that God has not forgotten
his covenant: he has sealed it definitively in heaven, where the ark is located.

19. 이 관찰자는, 예루살렘의 성전에 대한 초기의 언급에 병행하여 (11,1-2를
참조하라), (하느님의 현존의 탁월한 장소인) 하늘에 있는 성전을 소개합니다.
이 성전의 개방과 계약 궤를 봄은 메시아의 시대가 이미 끝에 도달하였으며 그리고
구원이라는 하느님의 위업이 이미 완료되었음을 보여줍니다. 이 궤는 [하느님에
의한] 이스라엘의 선택됨과 구원에 대한 그리고 당신의 백성의 한 가운데에 계신
하느님의 현존에 대한 상징(symbol)이었습니다. 2마카베오 2,4-8에 기록된
유다인들의 전통에 따르면, 예레미야(Jeremiah)는 예루살렘의 파괴 이전에 이 궤를
비밀의 숨겨진 장소에 두었으며, 그리고 이것은 메시아께서 오실 때에 다시 불 수
있을 것입니다. 이 묵시록의 인간 저자는 하느님께서 당신의 계약을 잊지 않고
계시며, 그리고 당신께서 이것을 하늘에 명확하게(definitively) 이미 봉인하셨음
(has sealed)을 우리에게 납득시키고자 이것을 사용합니다.

Many early commentators interpreted the ark as a reference to Christ's sacred
humanity, and St Bede explains that just as the manna was kept in the original
ark, so Christ's divinity lies hidden in his sacred body (cf. "Explanatio Apocalyp-
sis", 11, 19).

많은 수의 초기 주석자들은 이 궤를 그리스도의 성스러운 인성에 대한 언급으로서
이해하였으며, 그리고 성 베다(St. Bede)는 만나(manna)가 원래의 궤에 보관되어
있던 것과 꼭 마찬가지로, 그리스도의 신성이 당신의 성스러운 몸 안에 감추어져
있다고 설명하였습니다 ["Explanatio Apocalypsis", 11, 19를 참조하라].

The heavenly covenant is the new and eternal one made by Jesus Christ (cf. Mt
26:26-29 and par.) which will be revealed to all at his second coming when the
Church will triumph, as the Apocalypse goes on to describe. The presence of
the ark in the heavenly temple symbolizes the sublimity of the messianic king-
dom, which exceeds anything man could create. "The vigilant and active expec-
tation of the coming of the Kingdom is also the expectation of a finally perfect
justice for the living and the dead, for people of all times and places, a justice
which Jesus Christ, installed as supreme Judge, will establish (cf. Mt 24:29-44,
46; Acts 10:42; 2 Cor 5: 10). This promise, which surpasses all human possibi-
lities, directly concerns our life in this world. For true justice must include every-
one; it must explain the immense load of suffering borne by all generations. In
fact, without the resurrection of the dead and the Lord's judgment, there is no
justice in the full sense of the term. The promise of the resurrection is freely
made to meet the desire for true justice dwelling in the human heart" (SCDF,
"Libertatis Conscientia", 60).

히늘에 있는 계약은 예수 그리스도에 의하여 마련된 새롭고 영원한 계약인데
(마태오 복음서 26,26-29 및 병행 구절(par.)들을 참고하라), 이 계약은, 이 요한 묵시록
(the Apocalypse)이 계속하여 묘사하고 있듯이 교회가 승리할 때인 당신의 두 번째
오심에서 모든 이에게 드러내어질 것입니다. 하늘에 있는 성전에 이 궤의 현존은
메시아의 나라(the messianic kingdom)의 숭고함(sublimity)을 상징하는데, 이것은
사람이 창조할 수있는 모든 것을 능가합니다. "이 나라의 도래에 대한 깨어 기다리는
그리고 활발한 예상은 또한 죽은 이들과 산 이들을 위한, 모든 시기들 및 장소들의
사람들을 위한, 최종적으로 완미(完美)한 정의(a finally perfect justice)(*), 지고의
판관(supreme Judge)으로 임명되신 예수 그리스도께서 제정하실, 정의(a justice)에(**)
대한 예상입니다 (마태오 복음서 24,29-44.46; 사도행전 10,42; 2코린토 5,10을
참조하라). 인간의 가능성들 모두를 능가하는 이러한 약속은 이 세상에 있어
직접적으로 우리의 삶에 관계합니다. 이는 참된 정의(true justice)가 모든 이를
포함하여야만 하기 때문이며, 그리고 그것은 모든 세대들에 의하여 부담하게 되는
고통(suffering)이라는 거대한 짐(load)을 설명하여야만 하기 때문입니다. 사실,
죽은 이들의 부활과 주님의 심판 없이, 이 용어의 충만한 의미에 있어 결코 정의
(justice)가 있지 않습니다. 부활에 대한 약속은 인간의 심장(the human heart)에
거주하고 있는 참된 정의(true justice)에 대한 욕망(desire)을 만족시키기 위하여
자유롭게 마련되었습니다" [교황청 신앙교리성, SCDF, "Libertatis Conscientia", 60].

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(*) 번역자 주: "perfect" 라는 신학적으로 중요한 개념을 나타내는 용어를 우리말로
"완미(完美)한" 으로 번역한 이유에 대하여서는 다음의 글을 읽도록 하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1094.htm

(**) 번역자 주: 가톨릭 보편 교회가 가르치는 "justice(정의)"의 정의(definition)는
다음의 글에 있으니 필히 읽고 묵상하도록 하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/799.htm
-----

The thunder and lightning which accompany the appearance of the ark are remi-
niscent of the way God made his presence felt on Sinai; they reveal God's migh-
ty intervention (cf. Rev 4:5; 8:5) which is now accompanied by the chastisement
of the wicked, symbolized by the earthquake and hailstones (cf. Ex 9:13-35).

이 궤의 나타남에 수반하는 청둥과 번개는 시나이(Sinai) 산에서 느껴졌던 하느님께서
당신의 현존을 마련해 주셨던 바로 그 방식을 상기하게 하며, 그리고 그들은 당신의
힘센 개입을 드러내는데 (요한 묵시록 4,5; 8,5를 참조하라), 이것은 이제, 지진과
우박들에 의하여 상징되는, 사악한 이들의 응징(chastisement)으로써 수반되고
있습니다 (탈출기 9,13-35를 참조하라).

1-17. We are now introduced to the contenders in the eschatological battles
which mark the final confrontation between God and his adversary, the devil. The
author uses three portents to describe the leading figures involved, and the war it-
self. The first is the woman and her offspring, including the Messiah (12:1-2); the
second is the dragon, who will later transfer his power to the beasts (12:3); the
third, the seven angels with the seven bowls (15:1).

Three successive confrontations with the dragon are described--1) that of the Mes-
siah to whom the woman gives birth (12:1-6); 2) that of St Michael and his angels
(12:7-12); and 3) that of the woman and the rest of her offspring (12:13-17). These
confrontations should not be seen as being in chronological order. They are more
like three distinct pictures placed side by side because they are closely connec-
ted: in each the same enemy, the devil, does battle with God's plans and with
those whom God uses to carry them out.

1-2. The mysterious figure of the woman has been interpreted ever since the time
of the Fathers of the Church as referring to the ancient people of Israel, or the
Church of Jesus Christ, or the Blessed Virgin. The text supports all of these inter-
pretations but in none do all the details fit. The woman can stand for the people
of Israel, for it is from that people that the Messiah comes, and Isaiah compares
Israel to "a woman with child, who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she
is near her time" (Is 26:17).

She can also stand for the Church, whose children strive to overcome evil and to
bear witness to Jesus Christ (cf. v. 17). Following this interpretation St Gregory
wrote: "The sun stands for the light of truth, and the moon for the transitoriness
of temporal things; the holy Church is clothed like the sun because she is pro-
tected by the splendor of supernatural truth, and she has the moon under her
feet because she is above all earthly things" ("Moralia", 34, 12).

The passage can also refer to the Virgin Mary because it was she who truly and
historically gave birth to the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord (cf. v. 5). St Bernard
comments: "The sun contains permanent color and splendor; whereas the moon's
brightness is unpredictable and changeable, for it never stays the same. It is quite
right, then, for Mary to be depicted as clothed with the sun, for she entered the
profundity of divine wisdom much further than one can possibly conceive" ("De
B. Virgine", 2).

In his account of the Annunciation, St Luke sees Mary as representing the faithful
remnant of Israel; the angel greets her with the greeting given in Zephaniah 3:15 to
the daughter of Zion (cf. notes on Lk 1:26-31). St Paul in Galatians 4:4 sees a wo-
man as the symbol of the Church, our mother; and non-canonical Jewish literature
contemporary with the Book of Revelation quite often personifies the community
as a woman. So, the inspired text of the Apocalypse is open to interpreting this
woman as a direct reference to the Blessed Virgin who, as mother, shares in the
pain of Calvary (cf. Lk 2:35) and who was earlier prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 as a
"sign" (cf. Mt 1:22-23). At the same time the woman can be interpreted as stan-
ding for the people of God, the Church, whom the figure of Mary represents.

The Second Vatican Council has solemnly taught that Mary is a "type" or sym-
bol of the Church, 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. Through her faith and obedience she gave
birth on earth to the very Son of the Father, not through the knowledge of man
but by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, in the manner of a new Eve who
placed her faith, not in the serpent of old but in God's messenger, without wave-
ring in doubt. The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the
first-born among many brethren (cf. Rom 8:29), that is, the faithful, in whose ge-
neration and formation she cooperates with a mother's love" (Vatican II, "Lumen
Gentium", 63).

The description of the woman indicates her heavenly glory, and the twelve stars
of her victorious crown symbolize the people of God--the twelve patriarchs (cf.
Gen 37:9) and the twelve apostles. And so, independently of the chronological
aspects of the text, the Church sees in this heavenly woman the Blessed Virgin,
"taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and
exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully
conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords (cf. Rev 19:16) and conqueror of sin and
death" ("Lumen Gentium", 59). The Blessed Virgin is indeed the great sign, for,
as St Bonaventure says, "God could have made none greater. He could have
made a greater world and a greater heaven; but not a woman greater than his
own mother" ("Speculum", 8).

3-4. In his description of the devil (cf. v. 9), St John uses symbols taken from the
Old Testament. The dragon or serpent comes from Genesis 3:1-24, a passage
which underlies all the latter half of this book. Its red color and seven heads with
seven diadems show that it is bringing its full force to bear to wage this war. The
ten horns in Daniel 7:7 stand for the kings who are Israel's enemies; in Daniel a
horn is also mentioned to refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, of whom Daniel also
says (to emphasize the greatness of Antiochus' victories) that it cast stars down
from heaven onto the earth (cf. Dan 8:10). Satan drags other angels along with
him, as the text later recounts (Rev 12:9). All these symbols, then, are designed
to convey the enormous power of Satan. "The devil is described as a serpent",
St Cyprian writes, "because he moves silently and seems peaceable and comes
by easy ways and is so astute and so deceptive [...] that he tries to have night
taken for day, poison taken for medicine. So, by deceptions of this kind, he tries
to destroy truth by cunning. That is why he passes himself off as an angel of
light" ("De Unitate Ecclesiae", I-III).

After the fall of our first parents war broke out between the serpent and his seed
and the woman and hers: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, be-
tween your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise
his heel" (Gen 3:15). Jesus Christ is the woman's descendant who will obtain vic-
tory over the devil (cf. Mk 1:23-26; Lk 4:31-37; etc.). That is why the power of evil
concentrates all his energy on destroying Christ (cf. Mt 2:13-18) or to deflecting
him from his mission (cf. Mt 4:1-11 and par.). By relating this enmity to the be-
ginnings of the human race St. John paints a very vivid picture.

5. The birth of Jesus Christ brings into operation the divine plan announced by the
prophets (cf. Is 66:7) and by the Psalms (cf. Ps 2:9), and marks the first step in
ultimate victory over the devil. Jesus' life on earth, culminating in his passion, re-
surrection and ascension into heaven, was the key factor in achieving this victory.
St John emphasizes the triumph of Christ as victor, who, as the Church confes-
ses, "sits at the right hand of the Father" ("Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed").

6. The figure of the woman reminds us of the Church, the people of God. Israel
took refuge in the wilderness to escape from Pharaoh, and the Church does the
same after the victory of Christ. The wilderness stands for solitude and intimate
union with God. In the wilderness God took personal care of his people, setting
them free from their enemies (cf. Ex 17:8-16) and nourishing them with quail and
manna (cf. Ex 16:1-36). The Church is given similar protection against the powers
of hell (cf. Mt 16:18) and Christ nourishes it with his body and his word all the
while it makes its pilgrimage through the ages; it has a hard time (like Israel in
the wilderness) but there will be an end to it: it will take one thousand two hun-
dred and sixty days (cf. notes on 11:3).

Although the woman, in this verse, seems to refer directly to the Church, she
also in some way stands for the particular woman who gave birth to the Messiah,
the Blessed Virgin. As no other creature has done, Mary has enjoyed a very
unique type of union with God and very special protection from the powers of evil,
death included. Thus, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, "in the meantime
[while the Church makes its pilgrim way on earth], the Mother of Jesus in the glo-
ry which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning
of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines
forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pet 3:10), a sign of
certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim people of God" ("Lumen Gentium", 68).

10-12. With the ascension of Christ into heaven the Kingdom of God is estab-
lished and so all those who dwell in heaven break out into a song of joy. The
devil has been deprived of his power over man in the sense that the redemptive
action of Christ and man's faith enable man to escape from the world of sin. The
text expresses this joyful truth by saying that there is now no place for the accu-
ser, Satan whose name means and whom the Old Testament teaches to be the
accuser of men before God: cf. Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10). Given what God meant crea-
tion to be, Satan could claim as his victory anyone who, through sinning, disfi-
gured the image and likeness of God that was in him. However, once the Re-
demption has taken place, Satan no longer has power to do this, for, as St John
writes, "if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also
for the sins of the whole world" (Jn 2:1-2). Also, on ascending into heaven, Christ
sent us the Holy Spirit as "Intercessor and Advocate, especially when man, that
is, mankind, find themselves before the judgment of condemnation by that 'accu-
ser' about whom the Book of Revelation says that 'he accuses them day and
night before our God"' (Bl. John Paul II, "Dominum Et Vivificantem", 67).

Although Satan has lost this power to act in the world, he still has time left, be-
tween the resurrection of our Lord and the end of history, to put obstacles in
man's way and frustrate Christ's action. And so he works ever more frenetically,
as he sees time run out, in his effort to distance everyone and society itself from
the plans and commandments of God.

The author of the Book of Revelation uses this celestial chant to warn the Church
of the onset of danger as the End approaches.

Gospel Reading: Luke 1:26-38

The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
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[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee
named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her
and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly trou-
bled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might
be.

[30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and
you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son
of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David,
[33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there
will be no end."

[34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?"
[35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the po-
wer of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be
called holy, the Son of God. [36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her
old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was
called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said,
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your
word." And the angel departed from her.

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Commentary:

26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of
her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of
Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as 'full of grace'
(cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, 'Behold the hand-
maid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus
the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother
of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded
by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person
and work of her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption,
by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church)
see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating
in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen
Gentium", 56).

The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest
mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event
in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is
the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day
when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in
the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of
any kind.

St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words
of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom
of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the
Rosary.

27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through
the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made
choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from
whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time:
and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other crea-
tures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Inef-
fabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother
at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit
"who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as
to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St.
Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe
that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of
the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of
God", 14).

Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means,
most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no
single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.

28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously referring
to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.

"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's
special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that
this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces
reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the
Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was
preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one
of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf.
Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").

"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with
you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected
with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the
archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart,
He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De
Nativitate Domini", 4).

Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the
verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over
all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith,
etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of
God.

29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confu-
sion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.

30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the voca-
tion which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind
at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that
initial fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a
special calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace
of imperfection in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the super-
natural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the
advice of those in a position to help -- as St. Gabriel helped Mary.

31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the
Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the
Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in Mary
(cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).

He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being
God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human
nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent by
God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last forever,
for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called
Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High
and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of God.

The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold
these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly rea-
lized that she was to be the Mother of God.

34-38. Commenting on this passage, Bl. John Paul II said: "'Virgo fidelis', the
faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimen-
sions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful
first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her
and for the world. 'Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the
Annunciation [...]."

"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The quo-
modo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a 'fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I ac-
cept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man per-
ceives that he will never completely understand the 'how': that there are in God's
plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will
never succeed in understanding it completely [...]."

"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what
one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept
misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises
and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."

"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore,
the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a
day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is
easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour
of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be
called faithfulness. Mary's 'fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent
'fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral",
26 January 1979).

34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Ze-
chariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her
readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contradic-
tion: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin;
on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a mother.
The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed im-
possible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention
on the part of God.

Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in
line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Au-
gustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the peo-
ple of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied
and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De
Bono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in
keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate -- for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eli-
seus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspi-
ration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament,
which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from
the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf.
"Gaudium Et Spes", 48).

35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was journe-
ying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud co-
vered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the
tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at
the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of
a cloud (Luke 9:35).

At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady -- an ex-
pression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God -- which, according to the ac-
count in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life
-- now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Ho-
ly Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf.
Bl. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle
of God. This is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.

38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obe-
dience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going
to become -- the Mother of God -- and what she is -- a woman. However, this is
what God wants to happen and for Him nothing is impossible; therefore no one
should stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds
perfectly to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done ac-
cording to your word."

"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" (St. J. Escri-
va, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped
a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united Himself
with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but al-
so man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first defined
by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spiritual
Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying -- 'Behold, your son...,
behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27) -- simply promulgates what came about si-
lently at Nazareth. "With her generous 'fiat' (Mary) became, through the working
of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by receiving
into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Covenant and
true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).

The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the
RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the hand-
maid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obedi-
ence" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Following
her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without being
slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish vir-
gins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants,
ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know.
Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: 'Behold, I am the hand-
maid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't that marvel-
lous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience
to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly
moved to discover the 'freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans 8: 21)" (St. J.
Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.