And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Gabriel's greeting is remarkably like the presider's greeting at Mass, "The Lord be with you."
But Mary had never heard this new greeting and didn't know the response, "And with your spirit." The Angel had been sent to announce to the young woman a new age in cosmic history, and it's inaugurated with a simple greeting, "The Lord is with you."
His title for her, "Full of Grace," is also new and puzzling. What could that mean? She knew well enough the history of her people. God had graced the Patriarch Abraham with fullness as he promised descendants more numerous than the stars above or the grains of sand beneath his feet. (Only in our time has it seemed possible there are more stars in all the galaxies than there are grains of sand on earth.)
These two expressions, which astonished the Virgin, sound through the universe in an ever-widening sphere to include everyone who attends Mass and is greeted with the same words. That redeeming aura is welcomed by all who reply, "And with your spirit." We too are filled with grace; the Lord is with us also.
If they did not include us, if all the grace-filled moments of her life and the life of her Son, do not include us in that ever widening sphere of grace, what would be the point of them? Religion, which cynics say is passe, gathers us into the past and includes us in the future. Without it we have neither past nor future, and our reason for being implodes.
If Jesus, for instance, had authority to forgive sins but the priest does not, then that remarkable incident in Capernaum, when the Pharisees complained about a man forgiving sins in the name of God, has no meaning. If he could give his body and blood to the Apostles in the Cenacle but the priest cannot consecrate bread and wine to share with the congregation, the Last Supper was nothing more than an anomaly, a unique event without substance or meaning, and is best forgotten.
In the face of atheism, the Church dares to remember the angelic greeting to Mary, and the grace that fills her and all her people. We reply with astonished joy, "And with your spirit!" and that blessed sphere envelops us in the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.