On the Holy Incarnation and Mary's Fiat

by A Sinner

The Incarnation is one of the central events of Catholic teaching. That God became man to save us from Hell is incredible. I also give my viewpoint on the Holy Incarnation as well as Mary's "fiat". I am 17 and part of the laity. In other words, I have no authority in the Church. This is simply my viewpoint on this aspect of Catholic teaching.

A blessed and merry Christmas to you all, as well as a happy New Year and a holy Epiphany. This is a very holy time for us Catholics. That's why I can still say merry Christmas! Christmas, as many of you know, is so important that it gets its own season, as well as a penitential season before it. All this for one day seems a little much. But, then again, the secular world starts celebrating months in advance it seems. We all know that this is a holy time for us Catholics, but what makes it so holy? There are a couple things that make this holy day so special. You see, in every other religion, it's about what humanity does or can do for God. But, Christianity is different, in that it's about what God did for us. God offered us the ultimate sacrifice, His Only Begotten Son. And the Son willingly offered Himself for us!

The Gospel according to John begins with the words "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." This is truly incredible! God humbled Himself to become man to save us from the fires of Hell. Those who say that God must hate us if He sends us to Hell surely don't understand this one phrase. Think about this with me, God became man, so that man can become God, according to St. Paul. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. We don't know how God did it, but we know why and to me, that's all that matters. That God became man and as St. Paul tells us, He was obedient to death, even death on a Cross. The love of God is truly incredible isn't it? We are human, we are bound to sin and to rebel against the Father yet He never gives up on us. He breaks our hearts of stone to give us natural hearts! He took our hearts that were hardened by sin and replaced them with hearts made for loving Him! The Incarnation can be summed up in either a long essay, or in a couple words. I'll explain it in a couple words: God loves. God loves us so much that He gave us His Son so that we have the choice to join Him in eternity, so that we have the choice to receive our heavenly reward. God gave us so much, including His Son. That is how much He loves us. I can't say it enough. That is the point of Christmas.

Now, Christmas is over for the world. But, as Jesus said we live in the world, we aren't of it. The Church is still celebrating Christmas. Infact, we just celebrated the Epiphany and have another whole week left until the Bapitsm of Our Lord. In my church, the trees are still lit, the altar clothes are white like the priest's vestements and the Nativity scene is still up. Christmas is so important that it gets its own season! You know, it's great to celebrate Christmas for a couple weeks after the holiday. But, we need to remember to celebrate the birth of Christ everyday. How do we do this? Well, praying the Angelus everyday is a good start. The Angelus is a prayer that commemorates the Incarnation, as well as St. Gabriel visiting the Blessed Mother. The prayer is normally recited at noon, but a lot of people say the prayer at six in the morning and at six in the evening as well as at noon. Whatever works for you will be pleasing to God. We need to celebrate the birth of Christ in our hearts so that we don't forget the incredible gift that God gave us; His Only Begotten Son. Besides the Incarnation, there is someting else to talk about, Mary and her "Fiat".

"Fiat" is the Latin word for "so be it". This is what Mary said when the angel Gabriel asked her if she would submit to God's will, and she did with this one word. Mary, in her humility, humbled herself and did something dangerous (as she could have been stoned for having a child out of wedlock). In the Angelus prayer, we recall the Incarnation and the words of Mary to Gabriel, "Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum." Or, "Behold, I am the handmaid of The Lord, let it be done to me according to thy word." Mary, the Mother of God, Mother of the Church, Refuge of Sinners, Help of Christians, the Theotokos, and the Queen of Heaven became all this simply because she said "yes" to God. God not only picks the "little people" to do His will, but when they do His will, He bestows incredible blessings upon them. This is what happens when we become like Mary and humble ourselves before God and submit to His will. No, we won't all become great saints like Our Lady, but we will get to Heaven and that's what matters. Serving God and getting to join Him in His Kingdom. So, I have a little assignment for all of you and I'll do it as well. I want you to all join me in asking God for the courage to simply trust in Him, to surrender yourselves to Him. Because, by committing ourselves to serving God, we find true happiness. Happiness that comes from living to serve Our Lord and this happiness never goes away. It's always there. So, take a moment now and pray for the strength to submit to God's holy will, and allow Him to fulfil His plan for the world by being a part of it. All of this said, let's all say "so be it" to God and His plan. Please, pray for me and I you.

God bless,

A Sinner