FAITH, FIAT AND THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
Faith, according to the Letter to the Hebrews, is “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (11:1). Mary believed that God could fulfill his promise, not because she could see clearly every step of the journey, but because she freely surrendered herself to the One whose identity and plan were beyond her understanding, yet worthy of her trust. Saint Thomas Aquinas writes, “Just as the Blessed Virgin conceived Christ in her body, so every pious soul conceives Him spiritually.”
In order to contemplate with tenderness and love the birth of Jesus, we must pray to the Lord to give us a lively faith. If without faith we enter into the grotto of Bethlehem, we shall have nothing but a feeling of compassion at seeing an infant reduced to such a state of poverty that, being born in the depth of winter, he is laid in a manger of beasts, without fire, and in the midst of a cold cavern. But if we enter with faith, and consider what an excess of bounty and love it was in a God to humble himself to appear like a little child, wrapped in swaddling-clothes, placed on straw, crying and shivering with cold, unable to move.
Faith is itself a free gift of God. Faith is a fountain of grace. As a gift of God, it called theological virtue. The virtue by which we believe in God and all that God has said and revealed to us, because He is truth itself (CCC#1814). Mary accepted what she heard from Gabriel because its truth was guaranteed by God. On this account, the Catechism called her the perfect embodiment of faith (148). The Bible praises her for her faith: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Luke 1:45).
“Fiat” is a Latin word which means “let it happen”. Which can see traces of this in the creation stories (Genesis 1&2). In the gospel of Luke, Mary said among other things ...Let it be done unto me according to your Word (Luke 1:38). Therefore when we refer to Mary’s fiat, we are referring to Mary’s submission to the will of God.
The Bible tells us of signs that accompanied the birth of her son: angels, magi (three wisemen/ Kings/ Shepherds), a star, and the presentation in the temple, etc. In all these, Mary had but to walk with faith without knowing all the answers or seeing everything perfectly. She marked out a path of faith in God, and we can follow in her footsteps. When we doubt and waver, we can turn to her for the courage and strength we need to believe and to trust.
Which kind of faith do you have in God?
To Be Continued…
Mary, Mirror of Justice, Pray for us!!
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