After the great festivities of Holy Week and the eight-day Solemnity of the Easter Octave, you’d be forgiven for being a little spiritually fatigued. But the celebrations get extended out one more day (although Easter does continue on for fifty days in total so we still have plenty of time for celebrating), with the great Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord, the day on which we recall, reflect upon, and give thanks and glory to God for the great Fiat of Our Blessed Mother, the glorious Virgin Mary.

Now a little disclaimer – this Feast actually falls on the 25^th of March, nine months before Christmas. However, given the movable dates of Holy Week and Easter, this year the Annunciation had to be moved to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday). This is because no Solemnities can be celebrated in Holy Week – just as no ritual Masses (eg. Weddings and funerals) are permitted during this time. The more you know, right?

Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand.

The Annunciation is probably one of the greatest Feasts we have in the Catholic Church. It is a beautiful reminder of the beginning of the earthly life of Jesus Christ – the time of His Conception, which only took place after our beautiful Blessed Mother, visited by the Angel Gabriel, gave her fiat, her ‘yes’ to God, speaking those immortal and immaculate words:

“Let it be done to me according to your word.”

It’s quite incredible to think about Jesus Christ as one of us, going through the same developmental stages of growth within His Mother’s womb. He was not just an embryo. He was a human being, and even more – the Word made flesh – dwelling in the womb of the Virgin Mother. This reminds us of how sacred and precious human life is, not just from the moment of birth, but from the very moment of conception when that life is brought into existence in its most delicate form.

But I think what the Annunciation highlights most significantly is the glory in doing the Will of God.

This is something that challenges a lot, if not all, of us. We all wish doing the Will of God was easy. We all wish we could just say ‘ok God, you do what you want with me and I’ll follow along.’ But it’s never that simple. Our human nature often precludes us from making that perfect resignation to God’s Will that we might seek to enact.

Sure, we might reach a point where we are actively doing all we can to surrender our will to the Will of the Father, but we often struggle to maintain that act of surrender, that act of giving over our will to His. It is all to easy to falter, to not completely trust, to want to retain even just an inkling of control, just to make us feel like we have a little bit of power over our future and its outcomes. That control, however small a degree it may be, provides us with a little bit of comfort. It is something we crave, something we struggle to part with. Why? Because giving over full control can bring with it a feeling of discomfort, particularly in not knowing what may eventuate. That discomfort can be difficult to contend with. It can make us squirm a little. We may begin to wrestle with God for control.

But without that discomfort, without that suffering that we may endure, there is no glory. Because we know that the Will of God is always greater than our own will. We know that God brings about great things through His Divine Will. We know this because we have this great Feast of the Annunciation. That is truly was this Feast is all about – God’s Will being done.

When Mary, a humble and lowly handmaiden, gave her fiat, when she ceded her human will to the Divine Will of God, she allowed God to enact His great plan of salvation, a plan that had been in the works for thousands of years, since the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. She gave herself over completely to God. She trusted completely in His Will, His Will not only for her, but for all of humanity.

And God’s Will is good. We know this because the Will of God for all our lives, for all of mankind, is for our good. He Wills the good of humanity. That does not mean it’s going to be easy all the time. It doesn’t mean that everything is always going to be sunshine and rainbows. We all must face our trials. It is through those trials that God purifies us, that He provides us with opportunities to trust in Him, to lean on Him, to draw closer to Him. It is important to recognise that these times of trial are not designed to hurt us, they are not allowed to exist as a means of bringing evil into our lives. They are designed or permitted for our good – to orient us towards a more glorious purpose, a purpose that God has for each of us.

It can be terrifying to give ourselves over to the Lord. Surrendering our will to His and saying ‘yes’ to solely doing His Will can induce anxiety within us. But I think that is where the Annunciation and the fiat of the Blessed Mother becomes a beautiful example for each of us. While it may be scary and difficult to give our own fiat, to place our entire trust in the Will of God, just look at what He did for the Blessed Mother, look at what He brought about through her fiat.

If God can bring about the salvation of the world through the surrender and fiat of one woman, just imagine what He can do if you follow her lead.

We don’t have to be perfect. None of us ever will be until we hopefully, one day, reach the Kingdom of Heaven. But we can certainly strive to be as perfect as we possibly can, to “be perfect just like my Father in Heaven is perfect.” And part of that striving for perfection consists in following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary and giving our fiat – telling God we are ready to do His Will for us and giving ourselves over to Him completely, just as the Blessed Mother did over 2000 years ago.

That great fiat led to freedom. That selflessness led to salvation.

But we must do more than just imitate that selflessness of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. We must do more than imitate Our Blessed Mother. We must give our entire selves as a gift to God. We must entrust ourselves entirely to Him and His Holy Will. We will do the same when we realise our vocation in life, be it marriage, priesthood, religious life or any other. At that time, when that vocation comes to full fruition, we must make a gift of ourselves, our entire selves, either to the person we are becoming one with in the Sacrament of marriage or, if we are entering into religious life, to God and the Church. 

Yet while we remain in the single life, we should give ourselves over to God, trusting in His Will for us. It may be difficult at times, but we should know that, no matter what, we can always lean on Him. We can always bring our anxieties, worries, doubts, fears, everything to Him. 

Just pause and consider for a moment how Mary would have felt when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her to tell her she would bear the Son of God. Keep in mind that the Blessed Mother had just as much free will as we do. She knew the Scriptures – she was well versed in them – and so she would have known what this immense responsibility entailed. She could have become overwhelmed with the thoughts of what she would have to endure. She could have said ‘no.’  Yet, in all her humility, she said ‘yes’ and demonstrated for all of us for all time the greatest act of faith, hope, and trust in God.

What Mary was given in being chosen to be the Mother of God was not just a gift, but a sacrifice. She would endure many trials, with her fiat ultimately leading her to the Cross alongside her glorious Son. She would endure the pain and suffering that He endured in her own heart.

And yet Mary dedicated her life to bringing into the world, nurturing, and supporting our salvation. She was given a gift and a sacrifice. And that gift she was given by God was a gift she bore to the world. That gift, Jesus Christ Himself, ultimately gave Himself as a the ultimate gift and sacrifice.

Only in submitting ourselves to the Will of God can we even hope to come close to imitating that immaculate and all-consuming faith and trust that Our Blessed Mother had. And while that submission is not easy, it can bring about beautiful and wondrous moments in our lives that we will recognise as coming from God.

It’s not easy. But then again, nothing worth doing is ever that easy. There’s always effort that needs to be put in to reap the rewards. And submitting ourselves to God’s Will, trusting entirely in Him, can be incredibly rewarding.

And remember, if you struggle, that’s normal. If you fail to surrender, to submit your will to His Will, try again. If it’s too difficult to surrender your entire self to God, maybe start by trying to surrender just a a part of yourself. It could be just one aspect of your life that you’re trying to control too much. Cede that control to the Lord and allow Him to take over the reins.

And when you do, ask Our Blessed Mother to grant you the graces to allow the Lord to take care of it. Draw close to her, for she is the greatest model of faith, hope, and trust in God. For while the Annunciation was the heralding of our salvation, while Mary’s great fiat was the birth of our great hope, it was through these glorious moments of love and humility that the Blessed Mother began a journey of faith that would ultimately lead her through suffering and salvation to the Queenship of Heaven and Earth.

The Annunciation of the Lord is a celebration of love, faith, trust, and surrender to God. With one ‘yes’, Mary changed the course of human history.

Just remember, if God can do all that for Mary, imagine what He is waiting to do for you if you would only give your own fiat, submit yourself to His Will, and allow it to be done in your life.