May 11 Mon
How did God choose Mary? Ten questions on Our Lady.
1. How was the human conception of the Son of God?
The historic moment, foreseen by God from all eternity, took place in a village in Galilee, in Nazareth, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, a young Jewish woman, "a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; the virgin's name was Mary," says St. Luke.
To come to the world and dwell with us, God willed the free cooperation of a creature, Mary, to be the mother of his Son. "The Father of mercies willed that the consent of the one who was predestined to be the Mother preceded the Incarnation so that, just as one woman contributed to death (Eve), so also another woman would contribute to life."
2. What did the Angel Gabriel say to Mary in Nazareth, and what did Mary answer?
St. Luke describes in the first chapter of his Gospel how the Angel St. Gabriel said to Mary: "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you! Hearing these words, she was surprised and wondered what the greeting could mean. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for God has favored you." You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father; He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end."
Mary said to the Angel: "How can that be, if I do not know a man?" The Angel answered him: "The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the Child will be holy and will be called the Son of God."
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Christ's humanity, from his conception, is filled with the Holy Spirit because God gives him the Spirit without measure.
St. Josemaría: “How would we have acted, if we could have chosen our own mother? I'm sure we would have chosen the one we have, adorning her with every possible grace. That is what Christ did. Being all-powerful, all-wise, Love itself, his power carried out his will."
“Our Mother had meditated deep and long on the words of the holy men and women of the Old Testament who awaited the Savior, and on the events that they had taken part in. She must have marveled at all the great things that God, in his boundless mercy, had done for his people, who were so often ungrateful. As she considers the tenderness shown time after time by God towards his people, Mary's immaculate Heart breaks out in loving words, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for he has looked graciously upon the lowliness of his handmaid.' The early Christians, children of this good Mother, learned from her; we can, and we ought to do likewise."