2. The Contents of the First Part

       The figure of Mary remains strongly characterized by the first words of the angel, which in the Greek of Luke have a certain cadence and assonance (Lk 1: 28). The first word, the expression " chaire" (Lk 1: 28) has the force of a greeting; but to this greeting it is necessary to give all the weight and seriousness which the context demands. To translate it as " Good day", " Hello", etc. would be to place it on a rather superficial level. Neither should the value of the expression be reduced to that of a formula in current usage among certain classes of persons. The one who directs such a greeting is not just anyone: it is God himself. Neither is the one to whom it is directed an ordinary person: it is the creature closest to God. The act of greeting takes place in an atmosphere of great solemnity: Respecting the seriousness of these elements, the expression can be translated as "ave", " salve", "God greets you". In fact, not a few of the Latin fathers who use the word "ave" in translation have tried to emphasize the spiritual weight of such a greeting, giving importance to the value of "AVE "  as opposed to "EVA". In Eve, disobedient to God, the dignity of the woman was lost; in the woman of the "Ave", servant of the Lord, the dignity of woman is restored and reaches its highest splendor. Taking into account the use of the expression in the biblical language of the Septuagint, it cannot be denied that this is a greeting of joy: " rejoice". Naturally, the meaning and weight of such joy depends on the context. It is not a question of the joy that the world or any person whatsoever can give. To Mary is offered the joy that only God can give. Some of the Greek fathers affirm that, with that expression, the angel evangelized Mary. At the annunciation, God communicates to Mary the joy which he wishes to give with the intensity which pleases him. The context indicates that such joy possesses the quality and the depth reserved to the person chosen by God from among all creatures.

        The second formula of the greeting, the formula" kecharitôménê" (Lk 1: 28), expresses a very important characteristic of Mary. The word is the perfect passive participle of the verb "charitóô"; its content has a close link with that of the substantive " charis ", which signifies "grace". The word can be translated by "favored", "gifted with grace", "one for whom grace is destined", "beloved", etc. The translation of the Vulgate: " gratia plena" ("full of grace ") has become famous.

        The fact that the word is a passive participle denotes, in the light of the context, that what Mary has received is not the fruit of her own initiative or of her own efforts: what Mary possesses is above all a gift of God and results from a divine initiative. Mary is the receiving subject an action of which the acting subject is God. The formula indicates that Mary has this grace because she has received it from God. The translations, therefore, should be understood thus: "graced by God", "full of grace by the action of God ", etc. The respect to the priority of the divine element of the formula is in no way opposed to the recognition of the characteristic of the human subject. Mary, as a human person, remains truly marked and transformed, with respect to other human persons, by the particular character of such a grace.

       The fact that the word is a perfect participle denotes that it is necessary to pay attention to the double temporal value of the verb: to the past and to the present. Mary was filled with grace by God in the past and the effect of such an action endures into the present. Mary is not a sterile person or one receiving a mere promise; Mary is one who receives a divine action which has produced a marvelous effect in her.

       The meaning and scope of "kecharitómené" depend on the meaning and scope of the principal root "charis" ("grace"). The meaning and scope of "grace" depend, in their turn, on the context. The context indicates that it is necessary to give to the word a profoundly religious value and that it is necessary to attribute to such grace the luminosity of the light of the dawn. The context indicates also that if the supreme dignity of the one chosen and consecrated by God the Father is attached to Jesus, the supreme dignity of the one chosen and consecrated by God is proper to Mary. Mary's grace, therefore, is a grace of highest vocation, of highest election, of highest consecration. Mary is the person consecrated by God with the most marvelous of charisms of the history of salvation. She is the one, consecrated by God with the multiple grace of all the gifts needed to achieve the great work of messianic maternity. Mary is the person prepared by God with all the gifts needed to conceive Jesus, to bring him to birth and to offer to him what was needed to prepare himself for the work of redemption. The context indicates that, with regard to the manifestation of the divine benevolence, Mary is the one favored by God. The purpose of the election-consecration of Mary was not, therefore, inferior to the purpose of the election-consecration of Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you came to birth I consecrated you" (Jer l:5), The context indicates also that the singular grace of God affected Mary in the totality of her humanity. Nothing in her person remained outside the influence of the divine benevolence. For this, although the verb, by itself alone, does not express with certainty the idea of fullness, the context gives legitimacy to the celebrated translation or interpretation of the Vulgate: "gratia plena" ("full of grace").

        The greeting of the angel contains a third formula: "The Lord is with you" (Lk 1: 28). The formula has no explicit verb, but the verb "to be" is clearly understood. In the abstract it could be an expression of desire ("May the Lord be with you"), but the context is in favor of the affirmative meaning. Since the preceding formula has a past-present value, it is legitimate to use the ordinary translation: "The Lord is with you". The context which follows indicates, however, that it is not correct to suppress the reference toward the future. The formula probably has a polyvalent meaning: a declaration of the present and a promise for the future. Mary is and will be supported by the Lord. Mary is and will be protected by the Lord. The angel assures Mary that the Lord is and will be with her. The angel tells Mary that she enjoys the full support of the Lord for the carrying out of the great work for which she has been chosen.

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        The second part of the first unit describes the reaction of Mary in face of the angel's triple greeting: "She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean" (Lk 1: 29). In the second and third units Mary will react, by speaking. At this moment, there is a troubled, reflective and silent reaction. The astonishment of Mary comes from the quality of the greeting. She is surprised by the majesty of the greeting which is great by its origin (it  comes from God) and by its contents. Only a person of highest dignity in the eyes of God could be the recipient of such a greeting.