What made Mary the person she was and became through her difficult journey of life? Yes, she was uniquely gifted with the grace of being free from sin through the anticipated merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But she had to choose to remain in this state of grace and fidelity. Adam and Eve were created and gifted in full relationship with God. But they chose to move from the protection of that grace into sin. Where the first Eve failed the test, which would have perfected her will, the new Eve, Mary, remained faithful to God in spite of the test. 

God told Israel through the prophet Zechariah: “I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst....Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye.” (Zec 2:9, 12) Had Israel stayed within the fire-wall protection of the Covenant, they would not only have become the greatest nation of the world but they would have recognized the person of the Messiah in Jesus Christ.

Where Israel failed, Mary did not. She believed in the promises of God to her through the words of the angel and through her hearing of the Law and the Prophets in the synagogue Sabbath after Sabbath. She believed in her heart and lived in her actions: God is faithful to his promises; God will fulfill his plan; God will bring to be what he said he would do. As the events unfolded in her life, she saw the hand of God. Her child is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Her child is protected through the warning of an angel in a dream to Joseph. Her child is found in the temple. Her Son preaches the Good News of Salvation and hope. Her Son is crucified but rises on the third day. The Spirit is sent. The Church, the New Israel, is born on Pentecost. (To be continued)