Mary the Mother of hope; learning from her yes (fiat)

Necessity

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a mere creature and in comparison, with His infinite Majesty, is less than an
atom or rather, she is nothing at all.
The I am that I am, the grand Lord is always independent and sufficient to Himself. God never had, and
even now, does not have any absolute need for the Holy Virgin for the accomplishment of His will. He
can do everything by simply willing it.
But it is the unquestionable will of God to commence and complete His greatest works by the most
holy Virgin. It is also normal to think that He will not change His perception about Mary (if He started
with Mary, He will continue with Mary). For instance, like it or not, we cannot change our biological
mothers.

Whatever sighs the Patriarchs may have send forth, whatever prayers the prophets and the saints of
the old law may have offered up, it was only Mary who merited it and found grace before God by the
force of her prayers and the eminence of her virtues (Luke 1:30) “And the angel said to her, "Do not be
afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

According to St. Augustine, the world was unworthy to receive the Son of God directly from the Father’s
hands. He gave Him to Mary in order that the world might receive Him through her. (Just as Christ came
through Mary, we also go to Him through her)
Jesus Christ gave more glory to God the Father by submission to His Mother during those 30 years than
He would have given Him in converting the whole world by the working of the most extraordinary
miracles. Oh, how highly we glorify God when, to please Him, we submit ourselves to Mary, after the
example of Jesus Christ, our sole exemplar.

If we examine closely the remainder of the life of Jesus Christ, we see that he chose to begin his
miracles through Mary. It was by her word that he sanctified Saint John the Baptist in the womb of his
mother, Saint Elizabeth; no sooner had Mary spoken than John was sanctified. This was his first and
greatest miracle of grace. At the wedding in Cana, he changed water into wine at her humble prayer,
and this was his first miracle in the order of nature. He began and continued his miracles through Mary,
and he will continue them through her until the end of time. (so if you want God’s miracle, go to Mary)
Moses by the power of his prayer curbed God's anger against the Israelites so effectively that the
infinitely great and merciful Lord was unable to withstand him and asked Moses to let him be angry and
punish that rebellious people. How much greater, then, will be the prayer of the humble Virgin Mary,
worthy Mother of God, which is more powerful with the King of heaven than the prayers and intercession
of all the angels and saints in heaven and on earth.

Just as in the natural and bodily generation (bringing forth of the human person) there is a father and
a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there is a father who is God and a mother who
is Mary. All true children of God have God for their father and Mary for their mother; anyone who does
not have Mary for his mother, does not have God for his father. This is why the reprobate, such as
heretics and schismatics, who hate, despise, or ignore the Blessed Virgin, do not have God for their
father though they arrogantly claim they have, because they do not have Mary for their mother. Indeed,
if they had her for their mother they would love and honour her as good and true children naturally love
and honour the mother who gave them life.

Mother of Hope

Mary is considered a model of hope because of her unwavering faith and trust in God, even in the face
of adversity, exemplified by her "yes" to God's plan and her presence at the foot of the cross.
Here's a more detailed explanation of why Mary is seen as a model of hope:
• Her "Yes" to God:
Mary's immediate and unwavering "yes" to the angel Gabriel's announcement that she would be the
mother of Jesus, despite the extraordinary nature of the event, demonstrates her profound trust in
God's promises and her willingness to cooperate with his plan for salvation.
• Her Presence at the Foot of the Cross:
Mary's steadfast presence at the foot of the cross, witnessing her son's suffering and death, shows her
unwavering hope in God's ultimate plan, even in the face of immense pain and loss.
• Hope in the Resurrection:
Mary's hope extends beyond the cross, as she anticipates the resurrection of her son, Jesus, and the
promise of eternal life.
• Mother of the Church:
Mary is seen as the mother of the Church, and her example of hope encourages believers to trust in
God's promises and to persevere in faith, even in difficult times.
• A Model for Believers:
Mary's life serves as a model for all Christians, demonstrating how to live a life of faith, hope, and love,
and to trust in God's promises, even when it seems impossible.
• Mary is the Star of the Sea
Mary is often invoked as the "Star of the Sea", a sure guide who points the way to eternal salvation.

Mary’s Fiat: The Annunciation

Since the beginning, God has spoken with the men and women whom he created. First, he revealed
himself to Adam and Eve so that they might know him and enjoy fellowship with him—a relationship so
movingly described as “God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” amid his creation (Genesis
3:8).

From the story of the fall of Adam and Eve, we saw how sin separated the human race from its creator.
Yet God did not stop speaking to them, nor did he let his plan for his creation be thwarted. Even as
Adam and Eve tried to excuse their fault (3:12-13), God spoke his first words of promise to reverse the
consequences of sin and to triumph over Satan, giving a hint of hope of the redemption to come: Eve’s
offspring would crush the serpent (3:15).
After the fall, humankind began its long wait for a savior. Through the centuries, God continued his
conversation with his chosen people as he spoke to the patriarchs and prophets of Israel, repeatedly
renewing his promise. Finally the long-awaited time is at hand: God enters into conversation once
again, this time with Mary of Nazareth. Out of this unique conversation, God’s Word becomes flesh.
The angel Gabriel’s words to Mary, “Hail, full of grace” (Luke 1:28), announce a radical new turn in
God’s dialogue with humankind. God singles out a young Jewish woman and, through Gabriel, makes
a momentous request of her: to bear the “Son of the Most High” (1:31-32). Mary’s question, “How can
this be, since I have no husband?” (1:34), is not a skeptic’s demand for proof that ends any further
discussion; rather, with her inquiry, she enters more deeply into the conversation, expressing a
willingness to grasp something holy and mysterious.
In answer, Gabriel offers Mary no physiological (body, nature) explanation because Jesus is to be
conceived in a way that surpasses nature. Instead, he assures her that nothing is impossible for God
(Luke 1:37): It is the Holy Spirit who will overshadow and empower her (1:35). Thus, in conceiving and
bearing the Son of God, Mary will remain a virgin. This “overshadowing” is the same presence and glory
of God that rested on the “Dwelling” or “Tabernacle”—the portable tent-sanctuary that the Israelites
carried with them to house the Ark of the Covenant as they journeyed through the wilderness (Exodus
40:34-35).
Mary must have been in awe (feeling of fear and reverence) as she heard Gabriel describe the child to
be so wondrously conceived in her. He is to be named Jesus (Luke 1:31), meaning “The Lord saves.”
This child whom Mary is asked to bear would be the promised heir of Israel’s greatest king, David: “The
Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end” (1:32-33).
In these few moments Mary’s future has been unveiled for her. God has, amazingly, asked her to be the
mother of Israel’s Messiah! St. Bernard of Clairvaux eloquently captures the sense of anticipation as
Gabriel awaited Mary’s response in his Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Say the word and
receive the Word: give yours and conceive God’s. Breathe one fleeting word and embrace the
everlasting Word. . . . Blessed Virgin, open your heart to faith, your lips to consent and your womb to
your Creator. Behold, the long-desired of all nations is standing at the door and knocking” (Homily IV,
8). Although she understands little of what this would mean for her, Mary gives her wholehearted and
unreserved assent: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”
(Luke 1:38).

Mary’s consent is not cheap or ill-considered. She was a young woman of Israel, steeped in a
knowledge of the prophetic promises God had made to his people and full of eager longing to see
them fulfilled. She held God’s word and his promises in reverence and based her life on them. So,
though she is bewildered and unsure of all the implications of the angel’s message, her yes to God
rises out of faith in him and in his wisdom and goodness. She takes God at his word and trusts him
totally to fulfill it in her and to care for her as she gives herself over to it. She has an unerring
conviction that God will honor and meet her consent with grace, help, and protection, supplying
her with all she needs to carry it out.
Nor is Mary’s fiat a “one-time only” consent—it will be repeated over and over in the days and years
ahead. It initially opens her to be the recipient of the Word making its home in her. Mary will literally
bear the Word of God in the flesh; then she will be borne up (encouraged, supported) by it. Her steady
pondering of the word and her constant affirmation of it, repeatedly assenting to God’s purposes, will
carry her forward in unwavering faith and obedience.
Two thousand years after Mary said yes to God in Nazareth, her example still offers us strength to follow
God’s will in our own lives. As we stood on the threshold of this new millennium, Pope John Paul II wrote
of her: “Mary, who conceived the Incarnate Word by the power of the Holy Spirit and then in the whole
of her life allowed herself to be guided by his interior activity, will be contemplated and imitated . . .
above all as the woman who was docile to the voice of the Spirit, a woman of silence and attentiveness,
a woman of hope” (Tertio Millennio Adveniente , 48).

Summary
Mary's "fiat," meaning "let it be done," refers to her "yes" to God's will when the angel Gabriel
announced she would be the mother of Jesus, demonstrating her faith and openness to God's plan.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
The Annunciation:
In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she would conceive and bear a
son, Jesus, the Messiah.
Mary's Response:
Mary, a young woman of great faith, responded with, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be
to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
"Fiat" as a Symbol:
Her "yes" is known as her "fiat," a Latin word meaning "let it be" or "so be it".
Significance:
Mary's fiat is seen as a model of faith, humility, and obedience, as she trusted in God's plan even when
it was unknown or difficult.
Mary's Fiat is a Model for Christian Discipleship:
Mary's "yes" is a powerful example of how Christians are called to respond to God's will in their lives.
Mary's Fiat is a Model for Happiness:
Mary's "yes" is a model of how we can find happiness by trusting in God's will.
Mary's Fiat is a Model for Trusting God in the Unexpected:
Mary's trust in God is most clearly seen in the Annunciation, where she gives her “fiat”.
Mary's Fiat is a Model for Humility:
Mary's "yes" is a model of how we can respond to God with humility by submitting to God's will, even if
we doubt whether his plan is good.
Mary's Fiat is a Model for Openness and Trust:
Mary's "yes" is a model of how we can be open and trusting in God's plan.
Mary's Fiat is a Model for Saying Yes to God's Will:
Mary's "yes" is a model of how we can say "yes" to God's will.

If Mary were but known

The argument of Father Faber is that Mary is not half enough known or loved, with sad results for souls:
– “Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. It has no faith in itself. (Marian Dogma: Divine Maternity,
Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption) Hence it is that Jesus is not loved, that
heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls, which might be saints, wither and
dwindle; that the sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelised. Jesus is
obscured (not properly known or understood) because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of
souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable unworthy shadow which we call
our devotion to the Blessed Virgin, that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and
omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a
greater, a wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to his blessed mother…. Let a man but try it for
himself, and his surprise at the graces it brings with it, and the transformations it causes in his soul,
will soon convince him of its otherwise almost incredible efficacy as a means for the salvation of men,
and for the coming of the Kingdom of Christ.”

Every action should endorse her fiat.

The justification of this method is to be found in the Annunciation itself. In that moment all mankind
were joined with Mary, their representative. Her words included their words, and in a sense she
included them. God viewed them through her. Now, the daily life of a Christian is nothing else than the
formation of our Lord in that member of his Mystical Body.(It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives
in me - This is the fullness of interior life) This formation does not take place without Mary. It is an
outpouring and a part of the original Incarnation, so that Mary is really the Mother of the Christian just
as she is of Christ. Her consent and her maternal care are just as necessary to the daily growth of Christ
in the individual soul as they were to his original taking of flesh (formation of Jesus in her womb and for
30 years) What does all this involve for the Christian? It involves many important things of which this is
one: he must deliberately and whole-heartedly acknowledge Mary’s position as his representative in
the sacrificial offering, begun at the Annunciation and completed on the cross, which earned
Redemption. He must ratify the things she then did on his behalf, so that he can enjoy, without shame
and in their fulness, the infinite benefits thereby brought to him. And that ratification: of what nature is
it to be? Would a once-repeated act suffice? Work out the answer to this question in the light of the fact
that it was through Mary that every act of one’s life has become the act of a Christian. Is it not
reasonable and proper that likewise every act should bear some impress of acknowledgment and
gratitude to her? So the answer is the same as that already given: “You are to give her everything.”