Let it be to me as You have said. . .

Blessed Mary, the virgin esteemed by the Father and called full of grace, contributed nothing to her salvation.  As she herself notes in the Magnificat, her soul and spirit rejoice in God her Savior.  She offers nothing to Him nor does she claim to be worthy or deserve His grace.  Rather, she admits her low degree and all the while affirming the goodness of the Lord whose gracious mercy is her hope and confidence.  As such she beckons to all who would follow her to join their voices with hers in praise of the God who saves His people.  She was not, however, an unbeliever or some kind of fence sitter prior to the encounter with the archangel.  She believed the Lord and lived as a child of the covenant of mercy He had established with His people.  She lived within the promise of the Lord to be the God of His people and of His people to know only this God.  The Law of the Lord was her delight, her joy, and her lamp to lighten the way of faith.  But when the angel spoke those words, the Blessed Mary became the model Christian and the model for all Christians.

Her question How can this be was less a query to the Lord to explain Himself then it was an admission that she had nothing to offer Him to make His Word true -- everything depended upon the Lord and His power to overshadow what she could not and make the impossible possible.  In that respect, her words teach us today in our own prayers not to demand from God explanations but to plead the poverty of our efforts and our understanding.  That is always the perspective of faith.  Faith acknowledges what we lack and pleads nothing but His mercy.  From Blessed Mary we learn the posture of faith and how to pray this posture before the Lord -- trusting, confessing, and pleading His mercy alone.

Though Blessed Mary contributed nothing to her salvation, she did offer to the Lord what she had for Him to complete His saving will and purpose.  She offered the Lord her consent and her body.  And this was enough for God to fulfill His words to her and to bring forth from her womb Him who would be her Savior and the Savior of the whole world.  In this respect, she cooperated with the Lord, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  And therein lies the second way Blessed Mary is a model Christian and a model for all Christians.

Like her we offer nothing to nor can we add to what God has done to save us.  It is His credit alone that we are saved and it is His deliverance that has broken the chains of sin and released us from its death.  No, it is a vain and futile endeavor to presume that we cooperate or contribute to our salvation.  But as the redeemed in whom the Holy Spirit has brought forth faith, we do cooperate with the Lord in our sanctification and in the works that glorify Him.  What we offer Him is nothing more than our consent and our bodies but it is also nothing less.  The amen of faith is not some small thing to be discounted but the very fruit of the Spirit's labor to bring forth within us the new people of His baptismal promise.  It is a word, to be sure, but not only one.  It is also the will surrendered to His own and the new desire of new hearts to belong to Him and for Him to work in us and through us according to His will and purpose.

So Blessed Mary teaches us to confess before the Father only Christ as Savior, to consent to His saving will and purpose under the guidance and power of the Spirit, and to offer Him all that we are and all that we have for His glory and all that we do for His benefit and glory.  For all that God has done and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, let us echo her words today and everyday:  Let it be to me as You have said.....