“How can this be?”
O Key of David, opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!
“How can this be?” Mary asks the angel Gabriel. “How can this be?” How often this, too, is our question! We can be going about our day, going about our life, when somewhat out of nowhere, something, some moment, some situation causes us to pause, to stop in our tracks, and to ponder even in fear. And such a pause, like that of Mary, is pregnant, that is, full of meaning, of expectation, of potential: a pause that can change minds and hearts; a pause that can change direction; a pause that can change the course of history, our history, depending on the response. “Do not be afraid,” the angel says to Mary. In such moments, the angel says the same to us.
“How can this be?” We hold our breath. “How can this be?” We stop to catch our breath. “How can this be?” We allow God to breathe in us and through us, to breathe for us. The Holy Spirit, the Ruah or Breath of God, desires to come upon us and overshadow us, like the same Spirit did for Mary.
Augustine writes, “But I can see the virgin, modest indeed, and yet answering me and giving me some advice: ‘You are asking me where all this comes to me from? I am rather shy of telling you in reply about my own blessings; listen to the angel's greeting, and acknowledge in me your salvation. Believe the one whom I believed. You are asking where all this comes to me from? Let the angel answer.’ Tell me, angel, where did Mary get all this from? ‘I have already said where, when I greeted her: Hail, full of grace’” (Sermon 291.6).
“How can this be?” This question becomes the key for us, opening us up to the wonders and works of God, just as Mary opened herself. Will we pause? Will we ponder? Will we trust in grace, most especially in those moments when our first instinct might be to flee in fear?
A reflection written by Kevin DePrinzio O.S.A., Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, US
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Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Col 4:6