March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Archangel to the Virgin Mary. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” (Luke 1:28). By her humble “fiat”, the Virgin became the mother of her Creator; she conceived God Himself in her womb. She is the cause of mankind’s joy!

“Hail, full of grace [Κεχαριτωμένη], the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28)

The archangel addresses Mary as Κεχαριτωμένη (Kecharitomene), a unique Greek word used no where else in Scripture or even classical literature, signifying that Mary has always been graced in a complete and enduring way. She was conceived Immaculate, as the Catholic Church dogmatically teaches. Why is that?

Because she is the Ark of the New Covenant. Just as the old Ark carried the stone tablets, the manna, and Aaron’s priest staff, Mary carried within herself Jesus Christ who is God’s Word, the Bread from Heaven, and the Great High Priest. Just as the LORD’s presence overshadowed Israel’s Ark, so the Holy Spirit overshadows the Blessed Virgin. Just as the Ark of the Old Covenant was made of pure gold and incorruptible acacia wood, so is Mary the New Ark conceived Immaculate and preserved in her holiness and consecrated virginity.

According to the Early Church Fathers, Mary is also the New Eve:

St. Irenaeus of Lyons - “What is joined together could not otherwise be separated than by inversion of the process by which these bonds of union had arisen; so that the former ties be canceled by the latter … It was that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the Virgin Mary set free through faith.” (Against Heresies, A.D. 180)

St. Jerome - “Death came through Eve, but life has come through Mary.” (Epistle 22, A.D. 384)

St. Augustine - “Our Lord was not averse to men, for he took the form of man, nor to women, for of a woman He was born. Besides, there is a great mystery here: that just as death comes to us through a woman, life is born to us through a woman; that the devil, defeated, would be tormented by each nature, feminine and masculine, as he had taken delight in the defection of both.” (Christian Combat, A.D. 396)

Holy Mary, Full of Grace, Mother of God, Ever Virgin, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Cause of Our Joy, pray for us!