“Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you.” In addressing Mary, the angel replaced her name with the words, ‘full of grace.’ Grace is a gift of God freely given and unmerited. Grace is given for virtue, therefore being full of grace meant being full of virtue, and since humility is one of the virtues, then Mary was full of humility.
Mary’s humble response was, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done as you said.” False humility would have answered, “No God, I am not worthy.” True humility said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”
If Mary had not consented to God’s plan, would Jesus have still come to save us? Would He have tried a second plan and chosen another woman until He found someone to co-operate with Him? Would God have forced His way through? Rather, He sought humility and obedience from a woman who would counter Eve’s pride and disobedience. Mary gave the Savior access through the humility he gave her when He made her full of grace. It was humility that drew down the Son of God because humility is the antidote of pride, the first sin which separated mankind from God.
Mary is the chosen woman lovingly referred to by Jesus, (Jn 2:4, 19:26) the woman prophesied in Genesis (Gen 3:15) and the woman recognized in Revelation (Rev 12:1) She is the Gate of Heaven, the Mother of God, our spiritual mother and the queen of heaven and earth. God created Mary, full of every virtue, to be His masterpiece.
