Petition: Lord, give me a living, robust faith like Mary your Mother. Let me live each day with the same persevering, loving, docile, receptive attitude toward every expression of your will in my life. Let me have no other desire than to fulfill that will perfectly, generously, and joyfully every day. 

Gospel Passage Lk 2: 22-38 

But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. Then, when his days of ministry were completed he went home. After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months saying, "So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others." 

In the sixth month, 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. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceived 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." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, " The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. 

1. Yes. 

When the angel spoke to her, Mary accepted God's will without hesitation. Her question did not express doubt or unwillingness to do what was asked, she simply asked how so as to set about doing what God wanted of her. The answer is mysterious, but that does not matter to her. She hears that the Holy Spirit is going to fulfill a miracle, and that it enough for her. She allows him to act. "Let it be done to me as you say". So simply, so totally Mary lets God take control. 

2. Yes Again. 

Mary had to renew her faith and commitment to the Lord every day. One yes was not enough. She did not receive all the answers at once; many sacrifices and new challenges lay ahead, new problems and obstacles no one had explained to her. When she said her "yes" at the Annunciation and embraced the message of the angel, she could not have foreseen the events that would later take place. She could not have imagined how closely God intended to draw her into the mystery of suffering and redemption. God revealed his plan to her slowly, progressively, over time. And Mary had to open herself in faith every more profoundly and consciously. Through it all, she pondered the meaning of the events and the plan of God unfolding in her life, and gradually grew in her appreciation of the ways of God. But it was not always clear and easy for Mary. She had to submit her human reason and will to that of God, and accept what she could not understand. However she knew and trusted that God was greater and wiser than we are and this became her source of comfort, stability, and confidence. 

3. A Yes that is tested. 

When Mary and Joseph accepted the message of the angel and did as they were told their lives changed radically (though both were already extraordinarily good - Mary uniquely so - before the angel appeared to them. Their plans changed, persecution broke out against them, they became refugees, they had to think every move carefully according to who was king where.... Yet the angels had said "peace on earth to those God loves"... Theirs was a tested and staunch faith. Theirs was a firm and faithful faith, matured in trial. Mary received the fruits of the Cross before Christ died, and she shared in the suffering of the Servant of Yahweh before he walked his final steps to Calvary. 

4. My Yes. 

Our path is essentially the same, since for every Christian Mary is the model of the true disciple. In our decisions we need to listen to what God would have us do and not what others may think, or what may be easier. We can only see so far down the road, and there comes a time when our human sight has to be given the help of faith to see what is best to do. We need to have "confidence in the promises God makes to us, even if we don't fully understand his reasons. Faith is the submission of our mind and will to the will of God. It is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11:1), (cf. Catechism 146). 

Questionnaire: This optional questionnaire is intended to help you to examine your life, in the light of the inspirations God just gave you in these moments you shared with him. 

1. What do I do when God's will is inconvenient? 

2. How would I describe my faith? Is it joyful, trusting, firm, generous? 

3. What connection and similarity do I see between Mary's attitude and my own? Where do I need to improve?