The Annunciation
Fruit Of The Mystery: Humility

The following meditations are provided to assist you while praying the Holy Rosary. It is offered in a format where a question is posed to lead the meditation and then is followed by an answer below it.  It may be more helpful to grow in your meditation skills if you try to contemplate the question while praying this decade of the Rosary, and view the possible answer upon completing the prayers for the Mystery.

The meditations below offer possible answers to questions regarding these Mysteries.  Because the Wisdom of God is infinite, there are limitless insights that one may gain from meditating repeatedly upon the questions surrounding these Mysteries.  There are no wrong or right answers when praying the Holy Rosary in this way.  We are simply seeking to be inspired in our understanding of who Jesus is and how much He loves us, as the Holy Spirit gently guides us through reflective prayer.

For many reasons it may be difficult to engage our minds to enter into meditating on the Mysteries at hand.  An alternative option is to simply meditate upon the meaning of the core prayers of the Holy Rosary as you are praying them.  You may find these reflections on the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be prayers to be helpful during these times.


The Virtue of Humility

1.  In the Mystery of the Annunciation, who was displaying the virtue of humility? In what manner did they show this virtue?

God the Almighty Father displayed humility when He allowed His Son to come to earth to assume flesh and take on the associated human qualities, in order to save mankind.  Our Lord Jesus Christ showed tremendous humility as He lowered Himself to become a fetus within Mary’s womb and a powerless infant. The Holy Spirit showed humility as He espoused His Divine Person with that of a mere human woman to conceive Jesus within Mary’s womb; even though she was without the stain of sin, the fact remains she was still fully human.  Our Blessed Mother did indeed radiate humility as she accepted this tremendous honor and responsibility of bearing the Son of God as a young, poor teenage woman.  Certainly Joseph displays humility as he accepts God's plan without question, denies his rights to ever naturally father a son, and subjects himself to possible public scorn of marrying a woman who was pregnant.  We also see the humility of the Archangel Gabriel who lowers himself as a pure spiritual being to serve humans whose purity and capabilities are much lower in comparison.

2.  Humility is the virtue which allows us to see things, especially ourselves, as they really are.  Though Mary was conceived without sin and full of virtue and grace, what helped to shape her in humility as she grew in her womanhood?

We gain some insight through her response, “…according to Thy Word.”  Mary’s knowledge of the Word in Sacred Scripture and its promises help shape her in all humility, which keeps her open to receiving and recognizing the Word that Gabriel spoke to her.  This simple faith in the Word is the source of her joy and it permits her soul to glorify the Lord, and reflect the Love of the Father.

3.  Why was Mary troubled at the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel?

Mary was filled with so much humility, that she always sought to give honor and glory to God.  When Gabriel saluted Our Blessed Mother with a greeting of such high degree, her immediate response was similar to that of Jesus when the rich young ruler called Him good teacher: “No one is good, but God alone.” (160).  The idea of accepting praise that belonged to God alone was troubling to Mary. 

The Virtue of Faith

1.  Why is faith necessary to be truly humble?

Humility does not mean thinking less of oneself.  In its truest form it means acknowledging our strengths as well as our weakness, but giving God the glory for the gifts which we possess.  In other words, it means seeing things as they truly are.  Faith, then, must precede humility; for believing in God’s great love for us, which is experienced in the gifts that He gives us, is the foundation upon which all other truths are built.

2.  Do we try to understand everything before we believe?

When we take Mary as our model, we come to learn that our first step in faith must be accepting God’s plan for us by saying “yes.”  Understanding will follow as we ponder within our hearts the events that unfold after.  Saint Augustine states it beautifully in this quote: “Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”

Knowing God and His Love For Us

1.  What kind of relationship did Mary have with God prior to the Annunciation?  Was she familiar with who He was and His promises?  What kind of evidence do we have to support this?

The knowledge of God and His love and promises of salvation is ever present in Sacred Scripture.  It is obvious that Mary was well acquainted with God’s Word, where she learned Holy fear and love of the Lord.  This is reflected in her response to the Archangel Gabriel "Behold, I am the Lord's servant, may it be done to me according to your word,” which echoes the words of the Psalms- especially Psalm 119: 9, 25, 28, 41, 58, 65, 76, where it repeatedly states, “according to your word”; and Psalm 116:16 which begins “O Lord, truly I am Your servant…”

2.  Are we afraid to let God love us? Why?  What does He desire in return? 

Quite different from most of the accounts of men encountering Angels, who become stricken with fear from the presence or appearance of the Angel, Mary’s first reaction is to be taken back, and perplexed by the way he greets her- “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”  Gabriel was blessing her and telling her how much God loves her.  How often are we afraid of hearing or experiencing this?  Unlike Mary, full of virtue and grace, whose immediate reaction was prayer- pondering and contemplating this meaning while holding her ground, we often experience a “fight or flight” (usually flight) reaction.  Why? Unlike Mary, we are unaccustomed to listening and pondering in prayer before we act.  Also we often are unlike Mary, whose thoughts and actions were solely devoted to Our Lord and what she could do for Him.  We typically think in self-centered ways, such as why is He saying this, what does He want from me, or what will I have to sacrifice?  Both perspectives offer truth: Mary’s heart leads her to say “Be it done to me according to Your word,” and the cost is everything in her life would change dramatically.  The payoff, however, is unparalleled.  Eventually because of her love and obedience she would become crowned as the Queen of Heaven and earth.  Just what are we afraid of?  It does indeed cost everything- all of our selfish ways.  Yet what we miss out of fear is that all God ever asks of us is truly for our own good.  It is because He loves us, and wants us to ascend to the heights of Heaven and reflect all of His Glory within our very being.

Joseph

1.  What are Joseph’s character traits as portrayed in the Sacred Scriptures?

At the point that Joseph discovers Mary is with child, we begin to learn a bit about his character.  He displays the heart of Our Heavenly Father; though a very Just man, he chooses Mercy by desiring to ‘put her away privately’ instead of subjecting her to persecution for bearing a child that was not her husband’s.  Also, consider Joseph’s obedience and humility once he was instructed by the Angel to take Mary as his wife.  He knew people would view him in a disparaging way for the manner that the marriage and baby would come along instead of in line with the Jewish traditions and customs of the time.  Yet he selflessly chooses Jesus and Mary’s best interest over his own, as he assumes the responsibility of becoming their guardian and protector.
The Divine Will
1.  How can we best show God the Love we have for Him in our hearts when it comes to His Will for us?  When we feel Him tug at our hearts to do something, do we complain about it? Do we tell him that we will think about it? How does Mary respond to such a great responsibility?

Our Blessed Mother replied to God’s angel: “I am the servant of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”  Simply and humbly, she made herself available for the service God asked of her.  As we strive to follow in her footsteps of loving Jesus, we must pray for the grace to be promptly available to our Father’s Will, and to say ‘yes’ to Jesus without reservation.  

2.  Why are the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus always mentioned together?  What do they have in common?  How do they respond to the Divine Will?

The Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus are one in essence.  That is, they both exist solely to fulfill the Divine Will.  Their Hearts are completely empty of any selfish desires.  We see this perfectly in the Annunciation, where Jesus says ‘yes’ to the Father’s Will of coming to earth to save humanity, and Mary says ‘yes’ to becoming the Mother of God.  Here they become wholly united in the perfect fulfillment of the Divine Will.
Trust in the Divine Will
1.  Do we trust God’s plan in our lives as Mary trusted Him in hers?

Even though Mary was familiar with the scriptures that foretold that the child born to be the Savior would suffer unheard of agonies, she never for a moment hesitated in responding ‘yes’ to God’s plan.  In acts of misguided judgment based upon our deep-rooted fears, we sometimes deprive Our Father of the opportunity to manifest His Power and Love in our lives, which is greater than all of our fears and problems.  We try to force our will to attempt to control scenarios, which inevitably makes a situation worse.  If we trust that the Infinite Wisdom of God figures our troubles and pains into a greater plan, we may be open to accept the treasures He desires to bestow upon us in this life and in the next.

2.  Did the risk of accepting God’s Will outweigh the benefits for Mary?  Does the risk of accepting God’s Will in our current situation of life outweigh the benefits?

When Mary accepted God's Will, declaring herself the servant of the Lord, she took a tremendous risk.  In her time and culture, unwed motherhood could have been met with severe punishment. She could have been ridiculed; she could have been ostracized; she could have been stoned to death.  However, Mary trusted in God’s plan for her and in His promises.  Because Mary trusted, the Father gave us Jesus Christ through her.  We too must consider how our trust in Him may be affecting the lives of those around us.

Carrying God Within Us

1.  What kind of responsibilities did Mary face as she carried Jesus within her?  Do we also share in these responsibilities?

During the nine months that Mary carried Jesus in her womb she had great responsibilities.  While Jesus was growing within her, Mary was acting as Jesus’ footsteps as He went everywhere she chose. Every breath she took gave Him oxygen, and every bite of food she took in became His nourishment.  Mary’s body was also His warmth and His home. Just as Mary gave Jesus life within her, we are also called to foster the life of Christ within us.  And the more Jesus becomes formed within us, the more we grow in His virtues and likeness.  During this process we are also called to give Him life on this earth by becoming His footsteps as we bring Him everywhere we go, His voice to speak words of kindness, His hands to do good works, and to offer Him a home warmed with the love of our hearts.

2.  Was Mary the only person on earth who would ever carry God within her?  If you knew you were carrying God within you, how differently would you act?

Like Mary, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, which means that we are also “God-bearers,” meant to bring God’s presence into the world around us. How might God be calling you to share His presence with others today?  In a very special way, Jesus is truly present within us when we receive His Flesh and Blood in the Eucharist.  We are called, as Mary was, to live out this incredible role and to love and adore Jesus as we carry Him within our bodies. We do this best by loving and serving one another.

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