"Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, Yes Lord. Amen!"

“Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, Yes Lord. Amen!”

Reflecting on today’s Solemnity of the Annunciation, this line from the popular 2002 worship song by Darnell Evans, Trading My Sorrows, came to mind.

One of the principal themes of this page of Luke’s Gospel is that of Mary’s “yes”.

Mary’s “yes” has always been a jaw-dropper, the surprise ending to a passage saturated with divine intervention, the awe-inspiring and yet intimidating model of what our response to God is called to be. It has been described as total, perfect, simple, and…all-encompassing.

The “all-encompassing” part is the hardest part for me to get my mind around. Is a teenage girl really able to say “yes” to all life will bring upon her when she is yet at its earliest beginnings? Was Mary’s “yes” a “yes” well-informed of what lay ahead? Could she have possibly foreseen the suffering beyond that of her already difficult situation of being found with child before her marriage to Joseph?

I think Italian slang has the best answer to these questions: ni (no and si).

Mary is human, just like us. She was conceived without original sin, she was full of grace, but she’s human. And so I find it hard to believe that she could have had full knowledge of all that was to come; that her “yes” would have extended all the way to the pain of the cross and the joy of the Resurrection.

But yet, even without knowing the details, she did say “yes” to it all. How?

I think the question is not so much WHAT she said “yes” to but WHO she said “yes” to. She might not have known all but her knowledge certainly was not lacking when she gave her famous fiat that changed the course of history.

What did Mary know when she said “yes”? Her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, practicing Jews, would have most certainly taught her much about her people’s history. She would have known well the story of salvation up until that point: creation, the fall, years of exile and miraculous interventions engineered by the one true God, the Holy One of Israel. She would have learned about and learned to desire the coming of the long awaited Messiah. But even this is not yet enough. Mary’s knowledge of God would not have been only “textbook knowledge”. Her knowledge of Him was experiential, relational, and intimate. She was not only familiar with His faithfulness to her people but also to her. His love was not a general love spread out among many, but an intentional and personal love uniquely for her. The God Mary knew was not distant but close, deep within, and she was all too familiar with the sound of His voice, the sensation of His presence, the warmth of His gaze.

It is in the context of this loving relationship, with the fresh memory of lived experience, and because of past concrete life events that Mary says her “yes”. She knows well the One who calls her. She trusts Him completely, and she remembers that He is good to His promises.

Her “yes” does not directly address the future events of her life. It would be too little to give oneself for a mere single event of an existence destined to endure an eternity. No, she chooses, indeed she must and can only give herself so completely to the One who is eternity itself. And so she makes her “yes”. She courageously and confidently utters those few, simple words loaded with a meaning that will forever determine her existence and the existence of the whole world: Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word.

In one instant she embraces her Creator, flinging herself head long into His wide outstretched arms and along with Him she embraces all that is to come. She knows she will never understand the course of future events, why she will have to endure what she will, but she knows that if He allows it, He can bring good from it, and that is enough for her. She asks no questions and makes no requests. She simply makes herself available; she opens wide the doors of her heart and, quite literally, makes of herself a dwelling place of the Lord.

And so, just like in Darnell Evans’ famous record that most all of us have sung and dance to at some point in our lives, Mary’s “yes” is eager, enthusiastic, and almost exaggerated: Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, Yes Lord. Amen!

On this holy day in which we remember her “yes” let us ask Mary’s intercession in our own “yes”. That we may not merely say “yes” to a situation but rather to the God of all situations. May our trust in Him and love for Him grow each day until all we seek is to do His will and be in His presence. 

"...Yes, Yes  Lord. Amen!"

Lockdown: a new found freedom?

I’ve lived in Rome for almost four years now and I’ve never seen it so…still. Places which are normally overflowing with people (like the Trevi Fountain or St. Peter’s Square) are almost completely deserted. The noise of traffic has died down to an occasional hum and the number of street conversations heard from our window has greatly decreased.

Masses are being celebrated behind closed doors but the church bells still ring, reminding us of the Sacrifice being offered. Since “lockdown” began the general public can no longer participate physically but their spiritual union in this offering is more encouraged now than ever.

What we have in the coronavirus is a common enemy. People are scared, and it is understandable. Every time the government issues a new statement we hold our breath to see what now will be taken from us. Our freedom feels more and more restricted and our control all but gone…and then we begin to realize that what’s been taken is a false control that never really was and, accepting this, we find ourselves freer than ever before.

The human person has always had a precarious existence. To think we can truly control what happens in our life is an illusion. We certainly have our role to play, and our decisions are very important in determining many outcomes in our life. However, so many factors remain outside of our jurisdiction. Let’s consider a very simple example. You organize your morning routine so that everything is calculated to the exact minute. You do everything according to plan and are maybe even a tad early…but the bus is running late and you still don’t make it to work on time.

What this pandemic has done is reveal to us in a more obvious way our lack of control. And this for us is a blessing. Believe it or not, “being in control” (or rather feeling in control) is a form of enslavement. When I feel in control, everything depends on me. My every action is weighted with responsibility beyond my capability. This weight translates into stress, anxiety, pressure, exaggerated expectation, disappointment, and fear. I’m afraid to make a mistake because, if so, all will be lost.

God doesn’t want us to live under this weight of false responsibility. He wants to free us through our dependence on Him. God wants us to recognize that He is in control, that He is handling it, that He has thought it all through and knows what He is doing. He wants us to see Him as the Loving Father that He is, worthy of our trust, and true to His promises. And He invites us, His children, into a full participation of this plan. Therefore, He has gifted us with our free will allowing us to participate without assuming the heavy load of He who engineered the plan. In this way our responsibility truly becomes a response to the Father’s gift of life.

Our freedom then comes through trust in God; trust in His overall plan; trust that it is enough for us to carry out the part entrusted to us without having to bear the burden of the whole. It is this trust that sets us free.

When I am afraid and feel at peace: that’s freedom. When in the midst of sorrow and I can still hope: that’s freedom. When cast down in disappointment and I can still trust: that’s freedom. When thrust into despair and I still have faith: that’s freedom. When encountered with evil and I can still believe in goodness: that’s freedom. When suffering and I still know I’ve been saved: that’s freedom.

I do not believe that God “sent” us the coronavirus. I do not believe it is a punishment that should make us turn to Him. I do believe that God uses all things; that He can bring good even out of the bad that the coronavirus has brought into the world. I also believe that all events in our lives can lead to conversion and so, yes, we are called to convert also during this world crisis – I know I am! We are invited into a greater trust in God and a greater unity among us. In this historic moment we are men and women with a common enemy, but before this and for long after, we remain brothers and sisters with a common Father...and here lies our truest freedom!

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. 

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses 

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.