Whenever I pray the Annunciation mystery, and indeed for each mystery, the beautiful painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner comes into my mind. It depicts Mary, sitting on a low bed and gazing at a column of Light, representing the Angel Messenger, Gabriel. Mary’s face has a quizzical expression, as she hears his perplexing message: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing is impossible with God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:30-38)
Humble trust; hearing but not fully comprehending all that this heavenly messenger was imparting to her. And yet believing – seeing this vision, and embracing the message. There’s something so beautiful about the scene that Tanner portrays – its simplicity, the gentle disarray of the bed cloths, the posture of Mary as she hears these words that are at the heart of salvation history…
Lord God, grant me the grace to receive Your Word as Mary did, with humility and simplicity, trusting in You and knowing in my heart that truly nothing is impossible for You
Spiritual Sun Pennies 