“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)

God wants to reveal to each one of us, as he did to Mary, our true identity. “Would you like me to make a masterpiece of you and your life?” he seems to ask us. “Then follow the way I indicate, and you will become who you always are in my heart. I have thought of you and loved you from all eternity; I called you by name. By telling you my will I am revealing your true self.  ”His will, then, is not an imposition forced on us, but the expression of his love for us, of his plan for us. It is sublime as is God himself, deeply fascinating and beautiful as is his face: it is God giving himself to us. The will of God is like a golden thread, a divine theme that runs through the whole of our earthly life and beyond. It goes from eternity to eternity: first in the mind of God, then on this earth and finally in heaven.  In order for God’s design to be fulfilled completely, however, he asks for my consent, for your consent, as he asked Mary for hers. This is the only way that the word he pronounced for me and you can be fulfilled. Thus we too, like Mary,are called to say:

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Of course God’s will is not always clear to us. Like Mary we too will have to ask for the light to understand what he wants. We need to listen attentively and sincerely to his voice within us, seeking advice if needed from someone who can help us. But once we have understood his will, we want to say “yes” at once. Actually, if we have understood that his will is the greatest, most beautiful reality in our life, we won’t feel resigned to “having” to do the will of God, but we will be happy to “be able” to do the will of God, to be able to follow his plans, so that what he wants for us will be fulfilled. It’s the best thing we can do, the most intelligent thing we can do.  The words of Mary, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord,” are therefore our response of love to the love of God.  They keep us turned toward him, always listening and obeying, with only one desire in our hearts: to carry out his will in order to be as he wants us to be.  Nevertheless, at times what he asks of us can seem to be absurd. We would do things differently; we would like to decide for ourselves. We would almost want to give advice to God, to tell him what to do and what not to do. But if I believe that God is Love and I trust him, I know that whatever he plans for me and for those close to me is for my good and theirs. So I entrust myself to him, I abandon myself with total trust in his will, and I want it with all my heart, to the point of being one with it, knowing that accepting his will is accepting him, embracing him, nourishing myself with him.  We must believe that nothing happens by chance. No event; whether joyful, indifferent or painful; no encounter; no situation in the family, at work or school; and no condition of physical or moral health is without meaning. On the contrary, every event, situation and person bears a message from God, everything contributes to the fulfillment of God’s design, which we will discover little by little, day by day, doing the will of God as Mary did.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

How should we live this Word of Life? Practically speaking, our “yes” to the word of God means doing all that he asks us to do in every present moment well and completely. We should devote ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever we are doing, putting aside everything else, letting go of any other thought, desire, memory or action.  As we carry out each will of God, whether it be painful, joyful or indifferent, we can repeat, “May it be done to me according to your word,” or, as Jesus taught us in the Our Father, “Your will be done.” Let’s say before every action, “May your will be done.” By doing so, we will accomplish — one moment at a time, one piece at a time — the wonderful, unique and unrepeatable mosaic of our life that the Lord has always had in mind for each one of us.

- Chiara Lubich

Read more on this topic:

Chiara Lubich 
Mary, The Transparency of God, New City Press, 2005

Marisa Cerini
The reality of Mary in Chiara Lubich,
in New Humanity Review n.3

Chiara Lubich answers children's questions about Mary,
“ She Was So Very Beautiful,”
Living City supplement, 2003

The Word of Life, a sentence of Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily life. Its translation into 90 different languages anddialects reaches several million people worldwide, through print, radio, TV and the internet. From the Focolare Movement’ s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wroteher commentaries on the Word of Life, and after her death on March 14, 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary wasoriginally published in December 2002. If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past “ Words of Life,” they can be found in LivingCity, the Focolare monthly magazine (livingcitymagazine.com) or in books published by New City Press (newcitypress.com).For information, to subscribe or to order the special issue of Living City dedicated to Chiara Lubich, write to: Living City, 202 Comforter Blvd, Hyde Park,NY 12538 - 845-229-0496; e-mail: Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla . Visit focolare.org (intl). focolare.us (U.S.)© 2011 by the Focolare Movement (New York).