LET IT BE

 LET IT BE

            Last week we celebrated the feast of the Annunciation, and this week we have Good Friday. With these two days so close together this year, I am aware of their similarity - in one word "fiat" (Latin for "Let it be.")

            As Mary breathed out her word of acceptance, in Latin–one word -fiat -she became the mother of God. THE MOTHER OF GOD!

It was her vocation: to bear Christ into the world. No wonder she was frightened; she likely knew in her culture the punishment to be meted out to an unwed pregnant girl. Joseph also knew it and became the protector of her and foster father of the Divine Child to come.

But Mary trusted, and had the courage to say Let It Be, the most powerful YES ever spoken by a human being. 

            Many years later, this divine son of hers, in His work of teaching, stood before a crowd of people, and one of his disciples pointed out to Him that His mother was there in the crowd. Jesus answered, "Who is my mother?  Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants him to do, is my brother, my sister, my mother."

            So important is this teaching, that it is related in three of the four gospels. (Matthew 12: 46-50, Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21)

             Jesus Himself practiced what He taught.  The night before He died He accepted the will of His Father as he cried out in agony his own fiat: "Not my will, but Thine be done."

Together, Mary's and Jesus' acceptance of the will of the Father, brought about both the Incarnation and the Redemption.

One of the authors I read says "this gospel reminds us that the incarnation and redemption are clearly related to one another and are not to be sharply divided."

             Fiat     mihi     secundum   verbum tuum   Let it be done to me according to your word.

            

Fiat      voluntas tuas  Thy will be done.

            The first Fiat resulted in new life – Jesus the Savior was born!

            The second Fiat also resulted in new life but only after the death of Jesus- the Resurrection!  -- and, the promise of a new resurrected life for us! It's part of The Lord's Prayer. How many times a day are we aware of saying these words, "Thy Will be done"

            What does it mean for me and for you? God does not will that we suffer; it is part of the human condition. Instead, He sent His Son to teach us how to bear it, and to heal all those He met.

            What is my fiat? What does God ask of us?

            Some examples came to mind:

Can I accept the reality of old age, and its accompanying diminishments?  I may be getting forgetful. My sight is not so good; It gets harder to hear what others say; I join the parade of mobile walkers and use a cane. Perhaps I get the news that I, or someone in my family has cancer or another terrible illness. And if I accept any of these in my own life, then I must also accept them with patience in others, who are always before me.

We ask ourselves: Can I bring forth new life, as Mary did? Or if not new life, then a new look at life?

            If we mean what we say in these words, accepting God's will, it can bear fruit. Christ can be reborn in others or we can recognize him in others and serve Him in them.

            In 1970 a new song hit the pop music charts, originating with a young man from Liverpool; he was part of a group whose music you may remember. The lyrics went like this: "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me; speaking words of wisdom, 'Let it Be.' And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, 'Let it Be.'"

             Yes, it was Paul McCartney of the Beatles. Are you surprised?

            Let It Be = Fiat!            Look for New Life!                

  Sister Mary Carol Hellman, OSB