{"id":7705,"date":"2026-05-01T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T00:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7705"},"modified":"2025-12-20T12:52:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T04:52:03","slug":"359-faith-as-essential-key-in-marian-devotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7705","title":{"rendered":"359. Faith as Essential Key in Marian Devotion"},"content":{"rendered":"

26 <\/sup>In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup>to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin\u2019s name was Mary.\u00a028\u00a0<\/sup>And he came to her and said, \u201cGreetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.\u201d\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup>But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.\u00a030\u00a0<\/sup>The angel said to her, \u201cDo not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.\u00a031\u00a0<\/sup>And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.\u00a032\u00a0<\/sup>He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.\u00a033\u00a0<\/sup>He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.\u201d\u00a034\u00a0<\/sup>Mary said to the angel, \u201cHow can this be, since I am a virgin?\u201d\u00a035\u00a0<\/sup>The angel said to her, \u201cThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0will be holy; he will be called Son of God.\u00a036\u00a0<\/sup>And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup>For nothing will be impossible with God.\u201d\u00a038\u00a0<\/sup>Then Mary said, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.\u201d Then the angel departed from her<\/span>. [Luke 1:26-38<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 <\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[L] Annunciation with Sts Margaret & Ansanus, by Simone Martini<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Lippo Memmi<\/a>, 1333.<\/span><\/p>\n

Down through the centuries, many great Christians have written on the significance of Mary in the divine plan of salvation. Saint John Paul II wrote: \u201cChristianity is the wonder of a God who puts himself on the same level as the creature he has made.\u201d In fact, it was He who took the \u201cinitiative\u201d: to come into this world, He did not wait for us to earn it. Yet, He proposes His initiative, He does not impose it: He almost – we might say – asks our \u201cpermission.\u201d The vocation of Mother of God was proposed to Mary – not imposed upon her<\/em><\/strong>! Saint Anselm noted: \u201cHe who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The month of May is always an excellent time to engage in Marian reflection. In a previous post, we touched on faith as an important key in the Gospel of Luke, and we wrote about Mary\u2019s faith as the element that determined the different treatments by God of her compared to Zechariah. Now, we must elaborate a little on the faith we see in Mary.<\/span><\/p>\n

The month of May is always an excellent time to engage in Marian reflection. In a previous post, we touched on faith as an important key in the Gospel of Luke, and we wrote about Mary\u2019s faith as the element that determined the different treatments by God of her compared to Zechariah. We must now elaborate a little on the faith we see in Mary.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Holy Spirit in Mary\u2019s Discernment Process<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mary listened, struggled, and recognised in the angel\u2019s words the will of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. She realised that the most precious fruit we can bear can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit and she submitted to the Spirit\u2019s power: \u201cBehold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be <\/em>to me according to your word\u201d [Luke 1:38].<\/span><\/p>\n

    In this regard, textual evidence bears a point of prime significance. Mary could be listening intently to Angel Gabriel. She could be struggling to comprehend such an earth-shattering message. In the midst of all that she must have a load of questions she humanly wanted clarified. But, on hearing from the angel that it was the Holy Spirit who would carry out what to humans clearly seemed impossible, she at once ceased all further questions and submitted to the divine will.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This is spiritual discernment<\/em> at its best, as Mary teaches us the important lesson<\/em> for Christian living in five steps:<\/span><\/p>\n