December 1, 2014
Father Frank Desiderio, CSP
The Annunciation is everywhere. I’ve noticed many Catholic churches have a scene of the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary God’s plan for her, either as a stained glass window, a painting or a statue.
I’m not just talking about churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. When I went to St. Barnabas in the Bronx, I saw three Annunciation scenes: a painting, a stained glass window and a Della Robbia ceramic.
My favorite Annunciation is at the Paulist mother church, St. Paul’s in New York City. It’s a marble statue by one of the great American sculptors of the early 20th century, Bella Pratt. It is an arresting masterpiece. Every time I walk by it I want to stop and look and pray. For me, that’s the point of any piece of religious art – to move our minds and hearts to God.
Mary’s mantle opens around her like the flower of a lily. That was Pratt’s intention, to show Mary’s pure and open spirit by invoking a lily opening. She is shown standing, arms slightly out from her sides, hands open, palms forward in acceptance.
I think one reason why the Annunciation is one of the most popular scenes of religious art is because it shows Mary’s willing “yes” to God’s call. What I hear through this statue is Mary’s “thy will be done.” The question I then have to ask myself is, “After I say to God, ‘thy will be done,’ then what?
As I meditate on this work of sacred art, I ask myself am I really doing God’s will. Even if I have a good idea of what God wants for me, do I have the courage to pursue it. Accepting God’s will for me is one thing. Doing it is another.
As Gabriel tells Mary when she asks him about how she can be pregnant when she’s a virgin, “with God all things are possible.” When God gives us some good to do, God also gives us the grace to do it.
Two prayers come to mind as I meditate on this beautiful image of Mary. One is attributed to the Protestant pastor and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, the Serenity Prayer.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”
The other is the prayer Jesus taught us:
“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
When I know what God wants me to do, I then have to be open to the grace to do it. Knowing and doing both start in prayer.