YOUCAT*: Mary was more than a merely passive instrument of God. The Incarnation of God took place through her active consent as well. [493-494, 508-511]
When the angel spoke to Mary and told her that she would bear the Son of God, she didn’t say, “You got the wrong person.” She responded, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary said YES!
Mary is a true model of faith for each one of us. Her “yes” — we call it her “fiat,” Latin for “let it be done” — shows her complete acceptance of God’s will and allows her to be open to anything God asks of her. Mary’s fiat helps us to examine our own lives to see how we can be more obedient to what God is asking of us.
‘Mary’s response … is the most momentous word in history.’ —Reinhold Schnieder
*Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church
Lisa Gomes is the director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry
