March 25th, By Mr. Ryan Griffin: English Teacher/Yearbook

March 25, 2022: THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD: Solemnity
Mr. Ryan Griffin: English Teacher/Yearbook
Is 7:10-14; 8:10/Heb 10:4-10/Lk 1:26-38 (545)
Today the whole church celebrates the solemnity of the angel Gabriel’s Annunciation of the Lord
to the blessed virgin Mary. Psalm 40, today’s responsorial psalm, places the emphasis on
following God’s will: “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will.” 
How do we come to understand God’s will in our lives? Are we supposed to wait for a voice
from the heavens to come down and tell us word for word what he wants us to do with our lives?
We may think that would be awesome, but how many of us would really follow those orders,
especially when the will of God asks us to accept what seems impossible on faith? For example,
take the husband of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth. His name is Zechariah. He was also visited by the
angel Gabriel who announced to him that his wife Elizabeth in her old age would bear a son - the
future John the Baptist. What was Zechariah’s response to the angel: disbelief! He responds with,
“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Lk 1:18). His
question here is dismissive of God’s will in his life. His question is a rejection of the Scriptures
and of his use of reason. The result: the angel Gabriel takes away his ability to speak.
Zechariah’s disbelief is disciplined by God.
This still leaves my first question unanswered: how do we come to understand God’s will in our
lives? Zechariah teaches us that we need a good foundation in faith. We have to trust in the Lord.
How do we do that? Mary’s fiat, her “yes” to the angel Gabrile’s announcement, acts on faith but
also with a humble use of her reason. Mary is a model student who embraces both faith and
reason. She asks a question to the angel Gabriel as Zechariah did, but her question is different.
She asks, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” (Lk 1:34). Her question is a
genuine enquiry into how pregnancy is possible when she is a virgin. The angel Gabriel is not
upset with her use of reason. She proves that she has “faith seeking understanding” as St. Anselm
would describe it. 
So, where does her faith come from? Here I turn to the medieval depictions of Mary in 15th
century art. Zena Hitz, a professor from St. John’s University and author of Lost in Thought,
describes these different pictures of Mary as a deep reader, a studious student. She is often
depicted reading, always with a book in her hands, always studying scripture (Mary Paintings).
In Crivelli’s Annunciation (The Annunciation - Carlo Crivelli), “Mary is always alone,
sometimes explicitly removed from the hustle and bustle of city streets…and her shelter or
enclosure, her hidden room, is always emphasized. The development of her intellect takes place
in private” (Hitz 62). Mary’s faith in God is strengthened through her studies. Artists will even
depict Mary reading the verse from today’s first reading from the book of Isaiah that states, “the
virgin shall be with child and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14). Her studies of the scriptures protected her
from a dismissive attitude toward God’s will in her life and instead opened her up to accepting
God’s will - to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Chrsit. Her studies helped nurture the spirit of
God in her heart, mind, and soul. 
Take time this Lent to reflect on God’s will in your life. It may not be revealed to you as a voice
from the heavens, and that’s ok, since you can rely on your studies to help the spirit of God

reside more and more in your heart, mind, and soul. Let the spirit of God grow you in faith and
reason through your studies here at Holy Cross. When you enter the front gate here in the
morning say, “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will.”