Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done
to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)
These words mark the beginning of Mary's divine
adventure. The Angel has just revealed to her the plan God has for her: to be
the mother of the Messiah. Before giving her assent Mary wanted to be sure that
this was truly the will of God. Once she understood that this was indeed what
God wanted, she did not hesitate for a moment to adhere fully to it. After that
Mary continued to abandon herself completely to the will of God, even in the
most painful and tragic moments.
All generations call Mary blessed (cf. Luke 1:48)
because Mary did not do her own will but the will of God, and because she
trusted fully in everything God asked of her. By doing so, Mary fulfilled
herself completely to the point of becoming the Woman par excellence. In fact, this is what happens when we do the will of God: we fulfil our personality, acquire our full freedom and reach our true being. God has always thought of us, he has loved us from all eternity, we have always had a place in his heart. God wants to reveal to us too what he has thought of for each one of us. He wants to let us know our true identity. He seems to say to us: "Do you want me to make you and your life into a masterpiece? Then follow the path I will show you and you will become what you have always been in my heart. In fact, from all eternity, I have thought of you and loved you and I have uttered your name. I reveal your true self by telling you my will."
So his will is not an imposition forced on us, but it is the revelation of his love for us and of his plan for us. God's will is sublime like God himself, fascinating and heavenly as his face: it is God who gives himself. The will of God is a golden thread, a divine pattern woven through the whole of our earthy life and beyond. It is a plan which starts from eternity and goes to eternity. At first it is in the mind of God, then on this earth and afterwards in Paradise.
But in order for God's design to be completely fulfilled, as he did with Mary, God asks for our assent. This is the only way to fulfil the word which God has uttered about me, about you. So we too, like Mary, are asked to say:
Certainly, his will is not always clear to us. Like Mary we too will need to ask for light to understand what God wants. With great sincerity we must listen carefully to his voice within us and, if need be, ask advice from those who can help. But once we have understood his will, we want to say yes to him straightaway. In fact, if we have understood that his will is the greatest and most beautiful thing that could happen in our life, we will not resign ourselves to 'having to do' the will of God. Instead we will be glad to 'be able' to do the will of God, to be able to follow his plan, so that what he has thought of for us might come about. It is the best and most intelligent thing we can do.
Mary's words therefore become our loving response to God's love. They keep us always turned towards him, in an attitude of listening and of obedience, wanting only to do his will, to be as he wants us to be.
Nonetheless, sometimes, what he asks of us can seem absurd. It would seem a lot better to us to do something different. We would like to take charge of our life. We might even want to advise God and tell him what to do and not do. But, if I believe that God is love and trust him, I know that what he plans in my life and in the lives of those close to me, is for my good and theirs too. So I entrust myself to him, I abandon myself to his will with full trust, and I want it with the whole of myself, to the point of being one with it, knowing that to welcome his will is to welcome him, embrace him and be nourished with him.
We must believe that nothing happens by chance. No event, whether it be joyful, indifferent or painful, no encounter, no situation in the family, at work or at school, no moral or physical condition, is without meaning. On the contrary, every event, situation or person - bears a message from God. Everything contributes to the fulfilment of the design of God, which we will discover bit by bit, day by day, doing the will of God as Mary did.
So how can we live this Word? Practically speaking our 'yes' to the word of God means doing well and completely all that he asks us to do in every present moment. We should be completely immersed in whatever we are doing, putting aside everything else, letting go of desires, memories or actions that have to do with anything else.
We can say, "Let it be done to me according to your word," or, as Jesus taught us in the 'Our Father', "Your will be done," before every will of God, whether it is painful, joyful, or indifferent. Let's tell him this before each of our actions: 'Let it be done', 'Your will be done'. We will compose, moment by moment, piece by piece, the marvellous, unique and unrepeatable mosaic of our lives that the Lord has always thought of for each one of us.
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