4.  The Contents of the Third Part

The third and last unit of the second panel of the first diptych begins with the respectful explanation of the angel to Mary's question-objection (Lk 1: 35-37). The angel lets Mary know that her project of virginity is in no way opposed to the fulfillment of the maternity proposed by God. An extraordinary act of the infinite power of God will make possible what is impossible according to ordinary law: the synchronization between virginity and maternity, the concordance between a future of virginity and a simultaneous future of maternity. God does not ask Mary to change her resolve to live in consecrated virginity. The conception of Jesus will not be the work of a man. The action of God in the conception of Jesus will be more marvelous than in the conception of John the Baptist.  Jesus will not come to destroy Mary's plan of virginity; he will come to crown it.

        Having received the response of the angel, Mary has all the facts she needs to make the free and responsible decision which God desires. The angel's explanation, then, is followed by Mary's final reaction: "Then Mary said: Here I am, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let what you have said be done to me." (Lk 1: 38a). This response reveals the greatness of Mary's faith. In the first panel of the diptych, Zechariah, in spite of his priestly dignity, when faced with a great difficulty which required an extraordinary exercise of faith, succumbs and does not believe. In the second panel of the diptych, Mary, before a greater difficulty which required the exercise of an even deeper faith, triumphs and believes. Mary accepts as viable a plan of perpetual virginity and of simultaneous maternity; she accepts the mysterious harmony of such a complex future, because she trusts God. The angel, imposing a temporary muteness on Zechariah, (Lk 1: 20), reproaches him for his lack of faith. On the contrary Elizabeth takes it upon herself to give explicit praise to Mary's faith (Lk 1: 45), a praise already implicit in the behavior of the angel.

         Mary finds herself before a difficulty greater than that of Abraham; she faces a horizon so mysterious that only a faith superior to that of Abraham can accept it. For this reason, if the figure of the patriarch Abraham, who believed against all hope and did not weaken in faith (Ro 4: 18-19) is great and admirable, more admirable is the figure of Mary, who with her faith overcame obstacles greater than those facing Abraham!

        Mary' s response also reveals the strength of her hope and the high degree of her charity. It helps us also to describe her profound humility and the perfection of her obedience: Mary is the humble servant of the Lord, totally docile, totally open, totally available to the will of God. Mary lets herself be formed by God, structures her life as God wishes, walks with confidence on the paths of the Lord. She places her honor and her glory in serving the Lord; she rejoices in describing herself as "the servant of the Lord ".

     Mary, model of all virtue, is also model of the consecrated life. In her response of unconditional adherence to the message of the angel, she confidently places her whole future in the hands of God, expressing her firm decision to dedicate herself entirely to the exclusive service of Jesus' cause. Mary makes the total oblation of her person and her possessions to God, offers him all that she is and all that she has, places her whole life in the exclusive service of God's plan. She consecrates herself totally to God and to the plan proposed by him, consecrates herself unreservedly to the person and the work of Jesus.