Annunciation
Circumstances
Mary is "at most fifteen years old." In her room in Nazareth, she is spinning linen very white and soft like silk. As Maria Valtorta observes, she is lost in a joyful vision brought to her by a hymn she softly hums. Then the chant becomes a prayer:"Lord, God most high, do not delay any longer to send your Servant to bring Peace on earth. Awaken the favorable time and the pure and fruitful virgin for the coming of your Christ. Father, holy Father, grant your servant to offer her life to this intention. Grant me to die after having seen your light and your justice on earth, and having known that the Redemption is accomplished. Holy Father, give your people the one in whom the prophets hoped. Send the Redeemer to your servant. At the hour when my stay on earth ends, may your dwelling open to me, because its gates will already have been opened by your Christ for all who have hoped in you. Come, come, Spirit of the Lord, come to your faithful who await you. Come, Prince of Peace!"[2]This is the moment chosen by the archangel Gabriel to appear. Maria Valtorta describes him thus:
"He must take on a human appearance, but it transcends the human. Of what flesh is this superb, radiant figure made? Of what substance has God materialized it to make it perceptible to the Virgin’s senses? God alone can possess such essences and use them so perfectly. It is God a Face, a body, eyes, a mouth, Hair and hands like ours, but without our opaque matter. It is a light that has taken the color of flesh, of eyes, of Hair, of lips, a light that moves, smiles, looks, and speaks."At the greeting of the angel, kneeling about a meter away from her, Mary shudders and lowers her eyes. She stands up and leans against the wall. She pales and blushes in turn. Her Face expresses astonishment and fear. Unconsciously, she clasps her hands over her breast and tucks them into her long sleeves. She leans forward almost to hide her body as much as possible, in a gesture of gentle modesty. This causes the angel to reassure her twice.
The angel announces to her, as the Gospel reports, her future Maternity and the destiny of the one who will be called "Jesus." Mary wonders how this Maternity can be fulfilled since she had made the vow of virginity. He informs her: "It is not by the action of a man that you will be a mother, Mary. You are the eternal Virgin, the Saint of God. The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with his shadow [...] Nothing is impossible for God, Mary, full of Grace. What shall I say to my Lord? That no thought trouble you. He will watch over your interests if you give him your confidence. The world, heaven, the Eternal await your response!"
In turn, Mary crosses her hands on her chest, bows deeply, and says: "Here is the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me (Fiat) according to your word."
The Angel then sparkles with joy. He adores, because he surely sees the Spirit of God descend upon the Virgin, prostrated to give her agreement. Then he disappears, without moving the curtain that he leaves drawn over this holy mystery.[3]
Remarkable points
The central part of the scene follows the Gospel narrative of Luke with some coherent additions. The setting allows one to envision the room where the Incarnation took place to the extent that Lorenzo Ferri was able to sketch it.
Maria Valtorta links Mary's questioning to her vow of virginity. A vow she had shared with Joseph her husband, himself vowed to virginity. What Maria Valtorta comments[4]:"Did the Virgin know it?NO. “At this word, she was all disturbed, and she wondered what this greeting could mean” (Luke 1:29).
Mary says to the angel: “How will this be, since I do not know a man?”
If she had known, she would not have been troubled by this greeting, and she would not have wondered what it meant. She would have simply thought: “The hour of the conception of the Word in my womb has come, through the operation of the Holy Spirit.”
It is precisely because she knows nothing that she asks how it is possible for her to become a mother, since she does not know a man. This question clearly shows that Mary was ignorant that she was destined for divine Maternity, how and by whom the act that would give flesh to the Word would be accomplished, and in what way.
It is true that, as Saint Thomas says, the Annunciation was willed by God to obtain the free consent of Mary. But it is just as true that it was the angel’s task to enlighten Mary. Before, she knew nothing."
In "The Gospel as it was revealed to me"
- The event.[5]
- This "Yes" canceled Eve's "no" to God's command.[6]
- The fairly complete narration by Jesus on this page.[7]
- The "that the Soul of Mary be made without fault" is a marvel of the Creator. Praise thus goes to Him. But the "let it be done to me according to your word" is a marvel of my Mother.[8]
- Description of the Annunciation directly by Jesus at the moment of the "Transfiguration" (discovery of the mystical Face) of Mary.[9]
In other works of Maria Valtorta
The Notebooks
- Catechesis of September 4, 1943: Jesus comments on the Annunciation.[10]
In fundamental Christian texts
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- She who believed is called Blessed.[11]
- At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel gives the name Jesus.[12]
- The Immaculate Conception.[13]
- Daughter of Zion.[14]