Monday 26 March 2012

Mysteries

This blog was set up in order to demonstrate that the Christian faith is a great deal more interesting, mysterious, and beautiful (not to mention true) than many of us grew up thinking. It continues the project I began in The Seven Sacraments and All Things Made New with the aim of contributing to the revival of "mystagogical catechesis". Today in England we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation (displaced by Sunday from the 25th March), following closely on the heels of St Joseph's day. The Annunciation signifies the "announcement" to Mary of God's plan for her – that she should bear the Son of God. The following is extracted from a meditation on the First Mystery of the Rosary in All Things Made New (see Amazon or Angelico Press).

Nothing in her resists the will of God. She is free to oppose it, of course, but why should she? She knows or senses that it is in the will of the creator that the interests of the creature are best defended. Yet the future of the world hangs on her reply to the Angel, for the decision is not mechanical: it is an act she must make her own, a step she must take, which no one can dictate or do for her. Eve was just as free to reject the temptation of the Serpent, yet chose not to do so. The Lord is with thee. In a sense the Angel is the Lord’s presence to her, announcing in these words his arrival and what it means.

In another sense she is the one with whom the Lord is always present. This second meaning is important, for if we lose the Lord, or a sense of his presence, we may find it again by going to Mary. The Rosary is also the story of the Christian soul, and thus Mary’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel may be taken to represent our own encounter with our angelic Guardian. We are thereby approaching that level of our being which Mary represents. We hear the voice of the Angel who is continually in the presence of God, we feel the touch of divine love, the necessary word of guidance. In this meeting with the Angel the purpose of our life is revealed. Our mission is assigned to us, if we will accept it. How will we answer?

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