The Attitude of Holiness

Tuesday: December 8, 2015 –– Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Luke 1:26–38

The Attitude of Holiness

May it be done to me according to your word. Mary’s response to the angel is an indicator of her holiness and one of the best models for us if we hunger for holiness.

Eve succumbed to the temptation to put herself above God’s Word. This is the watershed of spiritual life. God is life, and the only true life for us, as the pinnacle of God’s creation, is to embrace and bear the Word of God. Mary did this totally and she is our model for all it means to  have spiritual life and be holy.

There is a psalm antiphon in The Liturgy of the Hours that says: Surrender to God and he will do everything for you. This is what marked Mary’s life. This is God’s call for each of us.

Mary surrendered to God and said “yes” even when she didn’t fully understand (How can this be…?). It is so easy for us to demand that our own “wisdom” be satisfied before we consider submitting to God. Even worse, we can so easily insist on an “obedience” that is convenient, easy, and pleasant.

God’s Word was able to come into our world as one of us, on the human side, because Mary said yes––May it be done to me according to your word.

Let’s not insist on our own understanding. Let’s not resist the Word of God when it’s not easy. Let’s follow Mary in holiness. Let’s pray every day, May it be done to me according to your word.