Saturday, May 31 : Saint Bernard

Let us all listen to the answer of the one who was chosen to be the Mother of God and who, nevertheless, did not lose her humility: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word”…By saying these words, Mary expresses above all the intensity of her desire rather than simply asking the accomplishment of something she was doubtful about. This does not mean that we may not find in these words, in her “fiat”, also a prayer: “May it be done”. For… God wants us to ask him the things he promises to give us. This is certainly why he starts by promising mostly what he has already decided to give us: the promise awakens our piety, and prayer makes us deserve what we will receive gratuitously… The Virgin had understood this, for to the gift of the gratuitous promise she added the merit of her prayer: “May it be done to me according to your word. May the eternal Word do to me what your word tells me today. May the Word that was with God from the beginning become flesh of my flesh according to your word…May this Word be not only perceptible to my ears, but also visible to my eyes, palpable to my hands, and that I may carry it in my arms. May it be not a written and mute word, but the incarnate and living Word; not lifeless signs traced on a withered parchment, but a living Word, in the form of a man, stamped alive in my womb…”In times past, God spoke often and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets” (Heb 1:1); his word was given to them to be listened to, to be proclaimed or to be acted on… For me, I ask that it may be put in my womb… I call to the Word, silently blown into me, incarnate in a person, physically united to my flesh… May it come in me for the whole world.”

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team