Day Eighteen of Forty: The Virtue of Faith

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Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.  There is a clear connection between this high liturgical feast day and the theological virtue of faith.  By the virtue of faith, this story is brought out of the past and made applicable in the lives of the Christian faithful in this age.  In this momentous celebration, God's people receive a beautiful revelation about the way that He meets us in order to bring us into deep communion with Him, even if we would be skeptical by natural, worldly standards.

The Gospel reading for the daily liturgy is a perfect place to begin.  There, St. Luke records Mary's reception of the perplexing message of the angel, first with doubt, and then with freedom and fearlessness.  When Gabriel greeted Mary as the "favored one," she was troubled (Lk 1:28-29).  His only response was to tell her, "Don't worry, Mary, you're going to have a son out of wed-lock" (loose paraphrase of Lk 1:30-31).  Still, Mary queries as to the feasibility of this venture.  The reply includes statements about being overshadowed the Holy Spirit, a quasi-miraculous birth to an aging and barren relative, and the matter-of-fact certainty that "nothing will be impossible for God" (Lk 1:34-37).  Any person who lacks the virtue of faith, even in the slightest degree, probably would render such things impossible, and far afield from usual comfort zones.  Yet, Mary's reaction quickly progressed from trouble and doubt to certitude, even with odd sayings about a spirit.

This young, Jewish virgin clearly did not lack the virtue of faith, not even slightly.  The letter to the Hebrews states, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11:1).  Surely, Mary had never seen or experienced the reality of Messianic salvation, but she lived in the assurance that it would occur.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that it is the virtue of faith by which one "freely commits his entire self to God" (#1814).  Mary's response exhibits such a free and total commitment to the Almighty: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38).  It is by faith, a disposition of her mind and heart, that Mary was prepared to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and become the Ark of the New Covenant.  It is by faith that we, her beloved sons and daughters, join her in welcoming the Incarnate Lord into our bodies (via the Eucharist), and proclaiming His greatness and rejoicing in His salvation (see Lk 1:46-47).

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