Mary's acceptance of God's will as narrated to her by the angel might seem to us rather foolhardy; she couldn't have realized what she was getting into. Today, a young girl of the age that Mary was - probably still in her teens - may not be deemed ready quite yet to take on the role of motherhood. Yet, Mary was invited to be a mother, - though still a virgin. Surely there must have been a great number of questions in her mind. But Mary was open to God's will and she was willing to take that step into the unknown, certain that God would guide and sustain her.

Indeed her 'fiat' - her 'Yes' - opened the way to the coming of Jesus among us as a human being to inaugurate his kingdom. That 'yes' would have been renewed and reaffirmed as her son grew up, unfolding to all His Father's will for humanity.

Today, we are challenged: are we willing to cooperate with God's will or do we merely pay lip service to doing God's will? Are our hearts and minds set on the way we would like our life to unfold? Yes, often we might even go through the motions of being 'religious' and even active in Church or society. Yet we may be running away from the things that the Spirit is prompting us towards. At some point in our lives, we must be ready to say 'Yes' to God and His Kingdom, even if it means putting aside our personal dreams and aspirations.