This morning's Gospel reading of Mary's fiat brings to mind Adrea della Robbia's masterpiece, "The Annunciation", which I saw several years ago at the Sanctuary of La Verna in Italy.
This familiar scene has been reduced to the essentials in which everyone is waiting for Mary's reply. The angel, God, the cherubs, and even the wings of the dove are waiting in suspense for the free will decision of Mary. Her face is thoughtful; one hand rests on the passage from Isaiah (Behold, a virgin shall conceive...) while her other hand rests on her heart, searching for God's will.
This incredible work demonstrates the moment—that silent moment—just before Mary gives her fiat. And her words, not yet uttered, are inscribed on the base: "You see before you the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you say."
It is a hold-your-breath kind of moment, a little drama before something monumental happens.
One can find that same thing happening in the caesura dividing the two stanzas of the Hail Mary. The first stanza ends with the words "blessed is the fruit of your womb" (hence, Mary is with child). In the silence of the caesura separating the first stanza from the second stanza (which begins with the words "Holy Mary, Mother of God"), Mary has given birth and is now a mother.
A lot happens in the silence of a pause, and in our busy, every day lives it can be incredibly beneficial to find that silence: before speaking, before an important decision, in prayer to hear what God has to say, as a way to begin, or end, the day.
A simple pause where silence can speak volumes.
[photo: The Annunciation, Andrea della Robbia, La Verna, Italy
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