Our Mission
We are a center for experiential education, rooted in the Gospels, encouraging the transformation of human consciousness through contemplation, and equipping people to be instruments of peaceful change in the world.
May 29, 2011
The Annunciation (detail), Henry Ossawa Tanner, Paris, France 1898,
The Philadelphia Museum of Art. http://www.philamuseum.org
Mary, Icon of Receptivity
If Jesus is the archetype of how the divine gift is being given, Mary is the archetype of how the divine gift is always received: it is always totally free and undeserved. The shocking thing is that the Scripture actually says almost nothing about Mary. No credit ratings are stated, no achievements; it doesn’t say she prayed a lot or went to the temple. No talk of heroic deeds, or even love for the poor. She is the poor one herself.
Mary knows how to receive a gift with total freedom, without needing to say “Lord, I am not worthy.” She knows how to be totally vulnerable and humble before Mystery. Mary knows she did not earn anything. It was all mercy, grace, and God’s utterly free and gratuitous choice. (Mary uses the word “mercy” three times in her Magnificat [Luke 1:46-55]). Mary had nothing to do with it, except, of course, saying YES to it!
All divine worthiness is given—and received.
Adapted from an unpublished talk given in Tucson, Arizona
Starter Prayer:
Here I am Lord;
I come to do your will.
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