Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 28, 2001
God's covenant fulfilled in Mary's fiat
The Annunciation: Reflections on marital love, fruitfulness
Faith, in its deepest essence," according to Pope John Paul II, "is the openness of the human heart to the gift: to God's self-communication in the Holy Spirit." This is precisely what Adam and Eve closed themselves to by sinning, and what Mary opened herself to at the Annunciation. Through her fiat ("Let it be done to me according to your word"), she opened herself to the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, and gave flesh to God's Son.
Every time a child is conceived, we are reminded of God's Covenant with humanity, which is fulfilled in Mary. Made in God's image and called to be "fruitful and multiply," man and woman are invited to participate in the mystery of God's own life and love every time they become "one flesh." Mary's openness to the Holy Spirit, her yes to life, provides the perfect occasion for us to reflect on the gift of marital love and fruitfulness.
Fertility is the original blessing given by God to man and woman (see Genesis 1:28). It's a divine gift. Gifts are meant to be freely given and received; never rejected on the one hand, and never demanded on the other. In this light we can better understand why the Church teaches that both contraception and those reproductive technologies that supplant the spouses' union are not in keeping with the reality of fertility as a gift from God. Contraception rejects the gift of fertility. These reproductive technologies demand it.
Both actions create a disposition of the heart quite different from Mary's fiat. Instead of saying to the Lord and Giver of Life, "Let it be done to me according to your will," what people are really saying through these actions is, "Let it be done to me according to my will."
One of the main lessons we learn from the Feast of the Annunciation, which we celebrated just this Monday, is that true happiness comes only by surrendering to God's will. Men and women of faith can agree to this intellectually. But it's another thing to put it into practice, especially with the gift of fertility.
It's a mystery that God allows some who are positively opposed to children to conceive, while at the same time he allows others who long for children to suffer with infertility. If I could explain why that is, I'd be God. I'm not. But both situations offer an opportunity for those involved to accept their own limitations and to abandon themselves to God.
Trust. This is what Mary's fiat teaches us. God's plans are to prosper us, to bring us true happiness. But God's ways are not our ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are God's ways above ours (Isaiah 55:9). We must trust in His ways.
The suffering of infertile couples is particularly poignant. But such sufferings are not in vain. As I've said in the past, suffering can bend and break us. But it can also break us open to become the persons God intended us to be. It depends on what we do with the pain. If we offer it back to God, he will use it to do great things in us and through us, because suffering is fertile.
Yes, suffering is fertile. These are not empty words of consolation for infertile couples. These words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63). If we enter into the suffering of the cross it always bears new life in the resurrection.
A great deal of confusion remains among Catholics about the Church's teaching on marital love and fertility. Pondering Mary's fiat can go a long way in helping to clarify things. So can a new book written by Christopher West, the director of our Marriage & Family Life Office. It's called "Good News about Sex and Marriage" (Servant, Ann Arbor) for a reason. As he demonstrates so well, the truth about married love really is good news, and the human heart longs for it.
As I wrote in the foreword to Christopher's book, "Do the Church and yourself a favor: Read and reread this book. Encourage everyone you know to do the same." Christopher will be giving a one-day seminar on his book at St. Thomas More Parish in Englewood on Saturday, April 7. I encourage you to attend. You can read more about his book and this seminar in this issue of the Register.
