I’ve read the Annunciation passage from Luke’s gospel several times, and I’ve meditated on this first of the Joyful Mysteries on countless occasions.  Sometimes I’ll take something different from this meditation, but usually it comes down to one phrase from the Blessed Virgin Mary, “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Our Lady’s attitude of total submission is such an inspiration.  The angel, Gabriel, has just appeared to Mary and told her that she is going to conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Her first response is one of confusion, but in her total humility she submits herself completely to God.

So I have to ask myself, how am I living up to this example that Mary sets for us early in Luke’s gospel?  Am I discerning and then totally submitting to God’s will?

I’m often not sure what it is exactly that God wants from me, but I do know that it’s spelled out pretty clearly in the Gospel accounts.  First and foremost, I’m supposed to love God with my whole heart and love my neighbor as myself.  A quick scan through the rest of the Gospels reveals several instances when Christ says, “Blessed are they…”  Generally speaking, Jesus is pretty clear in these instances about what He’s looking for from me.

So I know what God wants from me, but sometimes I find that I’m not fully willing to give it to Him, at least not yet.  I know that God wants me to be charitable, and I’m not talking about charity just in the monetary sense.  I’m talking about true Christian love.  God isn’t asking me to have nice warm feelings for everyone in my life, but He does want me to treat them as though I did.

If I truly look at myself, I see that my response is not, “May it be done to me according to your word.”  Typically, I’m more likely to respond with, “May it be done to me according to your word, as long as it doesn’t cause me too much discomfort, and not today either because I’m really busy today.  How about tomorrow?  Can I just pray a Rosary instead?  I mean, I really want to do your will, but I’m doing pretty well already, right?  I’m kinder than a lot of people.  And I sacrifice a lot of my time, don’t I?  Today I just need some me time.  Tomorrow.  I promise.  Definitely tomorrow.”

It looks like I have some work to do.  What about you?

Toward the end of my atheist years, I began to feel some sort of calling. Eventually, this calling led me to explore Christianity in more detail. I was never really sure why, but I knew that I wanted to learn more. Initially, I felt much more drawn to some of the Protestant churches. They seemed much more – modern. Most of them played fairly upbeat music, and some of them even let you have coffee during the service!

What was bothering me though, was the vast number of denominations that I had to choose from. They all had different approaches, slightly different beliefs or interpretations, and there was enough inconsistency among them to make me want to abandon this inquiry altogether. I slowly began to realize that having coffee and listening to rock music sure sounded nice, but what really mattered most to me was truth. I realized that consistent theological and moral teaching since the time of Jesus was the number one most important thing to me in a faith.

I eventually found the truth that I was looking for in the Catholic Church. I entered RCIA and completed the three necessary Sacraments to enter the Church, but to be honest I had quite a weak faith. I often questioned my decision, and thought longingly about the upbeat music and gourmet coffee that I was missing.

Eventually, I stumbled into a book about Marian apparitions. One thing that always seemed so strange to me about Catholics was their preoccupation with Mary. As I read about Church-approved apparitions such as those that occurred at Fatima, Portugal and Lourdes, France, I began to understand why. Catholics are so devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary because she’s always revealing herself and guiding us toward her son!

The apparitions that occurred at Lourdes, beginning February 11, 1858, are one of the most amazing events in Church history. I won’t go into any detail about these apparitions because there are so many other resources that have already covered them so well.

Supernatural events such as these played a large part in growing my faith, which was so weak in the first couple of years following my conversion. I am amazed by the number of miraculous cures, and the huge number of conversions that have occurred as a result of Our Lady’s appearances to St. Bernadette. God willing, these will continue long into the future.

There have been many purported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, even in relatively recent times. Unfortunately, enough of these have turned out to be fraudulent that doubt is cast upon most of them. Fortunately, as with most other matters, we have our Church to guide us. Once the Catholic Church has proclaimed that these events can be trusted, one can rest assured that sufficient research has been done, and solid proof found. While this might sound like blind, ignorant faith, the reality is that it takes a much larger leap of faith to try and explain events such as these by some method other than the miraculous intervention of God.

A prayer for the intercession of our Blessed Mother:

Divine Jesus,

You sent the Blessed Mother to Saint Bernadette to show the world that God is real.

Just like Mary asked to the girl to dig for a spring of healing water to appear, show me how to be cleansed of my sinful tendencies.

Give to me our dear Mother when I need her tender love and holy inspiration.

As I go through difficulties, cover me with her prayers. When I have important decisions to make, ask her to intercede for me until I understand and follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

When it’s time for me to die, send her to carry me peacefully into the arms of our heavenly Father.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for me.

Amen.