Today, the Church sings the great O Antiphon in the Gospel Acclamation: "O Key of David, opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!" In the Gospel, the angel Gabriel announces that Mary will conceive and bear a Son, and through her fiat, the true Key of David enters our world. Christ comes as the One who unlocks our captivity and opens the door to salvation.

St John Paul II, in Ecclesia de Eucharistia, teaches that Mary's yes finds an echo in our Amen at Communion. Just as she received the Word into her womb, so too do we receive Christ's Body and Blood into our hearts. The Eucharist makes us, in a sense, "pregnant" with the Word, called to let His presence transform us and bear fruit in love.

Too often, we risk hearing God's Word, or even receiving the Eucharist, without allowing Christ to shape our lives. Mary shows us another way. Through her example, she challenges us not only to hear and receive but to interiorise, and to conceive Christ within, so that we may become living tabernacles of His presence.

As Christmas draws near, may our daily fiat open the door to God's work. Each Amen at the altar echoes Mary's surrender… so that Christ is not only received, but also lived, shared, and born anew in the world.