I might have said that this was my least favorite title of Our Lady, but God knew better!
I have several favorite titles of Our Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady Undoer of Knots, Stella Maris, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Travelers, etc
And there are some that I'd like to grow in devotion to, like: Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Our Lady of Lourdes, etc
But God and Our Lady had a new title in mind for me, one that I hadn't ever considered a devotion to. And today I want you to consider starting a devotion to her, too!
Here's my story:
A couple weeks ago, I saw a reel highlighting a painting titled The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck (pictured above). I had never seen this painting before, and I thought the details were especially intriguing.
Then a few days later, I came across an Instagram post that would help me blindly pick a title of Our Lady for devotion. I said a quick prayer to the Holy Spirit, and chose a color that led to a title.
Of the 9 title options, I got the one that would have been my last choice- Our Lady of the Annunciation.
Not because it's a “bad” title of Our Lady. It's just never spoken to me or drawn me in. So I kinda filed it in the back of my mind, not sure if I would ever actually follow up on it.
But a few days later, while praying the 1st Joyful mystery (the Annunciation), I prayed about this “new” title.
What does this mean? What is Our Lady of the Annunciation? What does devotion to her look like? Why did I get this title? How is this relevant to me?
The most obvious answer I received was this: Mary's fiat.
Her yes to God.
I wasn't sure why, but I began to be convinced that maybe this was a devotion I needed. Which actually worried me a little! What was God going to ask me that I needed to say “yes” to???
But one more thing happened - I visited the National Gallery of Art and guess what original painting I happened upon…… the same one I had seen at the beginning of this story - The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck!
I was astonished! So I'm going to embrace this new devotion, and maybe you should too. The answer to my prayer - Mary's fiat - is an answer for you, too.
From the bible:
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38
Mary was completely open and responsive to God's will. She received life changing news. And in humility and obedience, she said yes. This is called Mary's fiat - in Latin, “let it be done."
Her “yes” was a pivotal moment in human history - man working with God to bring about our salvation.
Mary is our role model for the perfect Christian. So like her, we're called to have our own “yeses."
What does the Annunciation mean for you?
Maybe you're being called to a big change or just something small. Maybe God wants to work in your life, but you're not open to it. Or maybe you need to be saying “yes” more than “no.”
It's ok if it's scary - it is for me, too! But by opening up to the possibility of “yes," you could be changing the path of your story to align more closely with what God wants for you.
And that will help lead us to our greater good and our ultimate goal of Heaven!
