Feeling Anxious? This Annunciation, Give Your Worries to God Like Mary Did
Mary didn’t have all the answers — just unwavering trust in God. On this feast of the Incarnation, ask her to help you do the same.
In my life I all too often seek to completely understand large decisions before I make a real commitment to them. I want to know exactly what is going to happen, how it is going to happen and why it is going to happen — even if I know it will bring me closer to God. Doubt arises when we allow ourselves to get lost in the details that are less important than the big picture. If a decision will bring about deeper union and intimacy with God, then that must be where our “Yes” is driven from.
In her “Yes” — her fiat — Mary, the Mother of God, does not require hard evidence or deep explanation of how these events will take place. Gabriel tells her simply, “Nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). That is all she needed. The details of today’s solemnity provide us with the recipe for how we should follow the living God.
When we view the witness of the Blessed Mother, we can see that faith is built on relational trust.
For Mary, it was simply enough for Gabriel to state that God was behind all of this. She would be the vessel through which God would be born among us to save us from our sin.
Mary shows that true faith is built on the solid foundation of trust. The trust that Mary had for God came from the obvious gift of being free from original sin, but it also was the result of a deep union with God in her daily prayer life. Consider how close Mary must have been to the heart of God!
Mary’s trust did not end with Gabriel’s invitation for her to become the Mother of God.
The Annunciation was only the beginning of her school of trust. She would be required to have profound trust in God as she made her way to talk to Joseph about the news and as they welcomed the Christ Child into the world — which we celebrate nine months from today — and beyond. Through all the challenging moments that lay ahead of her — including the passion of Christ and awaiting the Resurrection — she trusted.
Pope Francis explained Mary’s demeanor on Holy Saturday at the Easter vigil 2020: “Our Lady spent that Saturday, the day that would be dedicated to her, in prayer and hope. She responded to sorrow with trust in the Lord.”
So, what is your level of trust regarding a task that God is asking you to do? Ask Mary to help you trust the Lord more radically. That’s the “trust challenge” of the Annunciation.
