Fiat! Let it be done to me according to your Word

This week, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. On March 25, the liturgy commemorates the momentous event when the Archangel Gabriel visits the Blessed Virgin Mary and announces that God has chosen her to fulfill the unique role in God’s salvific plan of being the mother of his Son.

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High” (Lk 1.31-32).

Many Catholics carry in their hearts a deep affection and familiarity with this mystery of our faith. For many, this special bond comes through devotion to the Holy Rosary. The annunciation is the first joyful mystery and is traditionally recited every Monday and Saturday. Regular reflection upon this mystery fosters a deep connection and intuitive appreciation in the hearts of the faithful.

An additional place that nurtures this attachment is a prayer called the Angelus. Traditionally prayed at the beginning of the day, at noon and at the end of the workday, this prayer recalls key passages from the annunciation.

“The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your Word. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

Each verse is punctuated by a recitation of the Hail Mary, which contains the Archangel Gabriel’s words of greeting.

The spiritual core of this mystery is the declaration of Mary’s fiat, her unconditional yes to the Lord. This word fiat comes from the Latin words for Mary’s response to the archangel, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.” Let it be done unto me according to your Word. In her response, Mary models for us the perfect response to the will of God.

Mary did not have a perfect understanding of how the archangel’s words to her would be fulfilled. It was beyond her comprehension to fully grasp the mysterious and providential ways of God. Nevertheless, rooted in a deep faith that had produced the habit of obedience in her heart, Mary said yes not because she understood the plan but because she trusted the planner.

We are invited to welcome this model of faithful obedience into our hearts and to allow it to abide within us. Mary’s witness of unconditional trust that gives rise to perfect obedience is the pattern of discipleship.

Mary’s perfect cooperation with God’s will not only enables her to become the Mother of Jesus, but also his first disciple. Imitating Mary’s fiat, her unconditional yes, frees us from the many fears and doubts that hold us back from total obedience and full cooperation with the will of God.

We can follow the path traced out in Mary’s yes when we are presented with uncertain or even unknown realities in life. We do not need perfect understanding or a bird’s eye view of what the future holds.

There is a long tradition in the spiritual theology of the Church that encourages us to welcome the will of God, not in some ideal, imagined set of circumstances, but in the present moment with all its tensions, imperfections and uncertainties.

There are many places where we can find this theology of the fiat explored and developed for us. There is a book by the Jesuit Father Jean-Pierre Caussade titled “Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence.” Another is “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence. (Pope Leo XIV himself recently recommended this spiritual classic!)

There also is the Prayer of Abandonment by Saint Charles de Foucauld, the Surrender Novena of Don Dolindo Ruotolo, as well as the Suscipe of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and that of Mother Catherine McAuley, and the long version of the Serenity Prayer from the Twelve Steps tradition.

At the heart of all these spiritual works is the simple invitation to receive the present moment – in whatever form it comes to us – as the invitation to give an unconditional yes to the will of God, to give our very own fiat.

More than a perfectly mapped out future or total understanding of what God intends to do, it will be our own deep faith that will produce the habit of obedience in our hearts. Then, like Mary, we will say yes not because we know the plan, but because we trust the planner.