Reflection - March 25, 2025

The Annunciation of the Lord

Dear university community,

In his poem, The Annunciation, Samuel Menashe places a question—which is itself an answer—on the lips of Mary. He writes,

              She bows her head
              Submissive, yet
              Her downcast glance
              Asks the angel, “Why,
              For this romance,
              Do I qualify?”

A romance between creature and Creator, between us—represented by Mary—and God. That is the correct lens to use as we contemplate the mystery of our God-Made-Flesh. And like in any wonderful romance, it is to poetry that we must turn to truly appreciate—more than try to rationalize—the mystery right in front of us. Let us turn to Denise Levertov's poem, Annunciation:

We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,
almost always a lectern, a book; always
the tall lily.
       Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings,
the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,
whom she acknowledges, a guest.
But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions
courage.
       The engendering Spirit
did not enter her without consent.
         God waited.
She was free
to accept or to refuse, choice
integral to humanness.

Courage and freedom become the pre-requisites for accepting our own annunciations. Levertov proceeds:

Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?
         Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.
More often
those moments
      when roads of light and storm
      open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from
in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
                                 God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes. 

As we celebrate once again the Feast of the Annunciation, I invite all of us to ponder and pray about our own annunciation moments and strive to respond, not in sullen pride, dread, weakness, or despair, but like Mary did: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). In the words of Levertov:

She did not cry, ‘I cannot. I am not worthy,’
Nor, ‘I have not the strength.’
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
                                                       raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
                                  consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
                               and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
              courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.

Happy Feast Day, everyone!

Sr. Walter Maher, CCVI

VP for Mission and Ministry