O God, who willed that Thy Word, at the message of the angel, should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; we beseech Thee, grant that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God may be helped by her intercession before Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
THIS IS THE GREAT DAY on which the eternal Word of the Father unites Himself with human nature in the womb of a Virgin, and God becomes man.
The Church greets this day with a joy that nothing can diminish; for she knows that at this very moment the redemption of the world begins. The mystery accomplished today is the foundation of all the others. Without the Incarnation there is no reconciliation; without the Incarnation no Cross; without the Incarnation no Resurrection. The heavens bow down to the earth; the archangel is sent; a Virgin is addressed; and the Son of the Most High descends. Yet God wills that the salvation of the world should not take place without the free consent of the creature whom He has chosen. Therefore heaven awaits the word of Mary. The angel announces the divine decree; the Virgin listens; she asks how this shall be; she learns that the Holy Ghost shall overshadow her; and then she speaks the word awaited through the ages:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.
At that very moment the Word is made flesh. The eternal Word, who was with God, assumes human nature. The Son of God becomes the Son of Mary. The Redeemer of the world is conceived. The promise made in paradise begins to be fulfilled. The prophecies become reality. The patriarchs rejoice. The just of the Old Covenant behold the dawn of their hope. This is the day on which the new Eve sets her obedience against the disobedience of the first. Through Eve came death; through Mary comes life. By a virgin mankind was lost; by a Virgin it is restored. The voice of the angel, which today sounds forth in Nazareth, brings back peace between heaven and earth.
And how wondrous is the meeting of the times. On this day begins the life of Him who shall die for the world. The Church has long believed that the same date on which the Son of God was conceived was also the day on which He would accomplish His redeeming sacrifice. Thus this day unites the beginning and the end: the Incarnation and the Cross. In the womb of Mary the sacrifice of Golgotha already begins. Therefore this feast is so great. It belongs to the most exalted that the Church celebrates. For today the bridge is laid between God and man. Today the Redeemer is given to us. Today salvation begins. (Dom Prosper Guéranger)
Thou hast heard, O Virgin, that thou shalt conceive and bear a Son; thou hast heard that this shall not be by man, but by the Holy Ghost. The angel awaits thy answer; for it is time that he return to Him who sent him. We also wait, O Lady, for a word of mercy, we who are so miserably weighed down under the sentence of condemnation.
Behold, the price of our salvation is offered to thee: we shall be delivered at once if thou consentest. In the eternal Word of God we were all created; and behold, we die. In thy brief answer we are restored, to be called back to life.
This Adam, with his exiled descendants, weeping at thy feet, implores of thee, O gracious Virgin; this Abraham, this David; this all the holy fathers, who themselves dwell in the land of the shadow of death. The whole world awaits this, prostrate at thy knees.
And not without reason, for in thy hand is the price of our salvation. If thou consentest, we shall at once be delivered; if thou refusest, we shall all perish. Answer then quickly to the angel, yea, through the angel to the Lord: speak the word and receive the Word; utter thine own and receive the divine; send forth the passing and embrace the eternal.
Why dost thou delay? why dost thou hesitate? Believe, confess, and receive. Let humility open to faith, let devotion receive, let chastity bring forth. (Bernard of Clairvaux)