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Annunciation by Paolo de Matteis, 1712. The white lily in the angel's hand is symbolic of Mary's purity in Marian art. (Wikipedia)
The
angel Gabriel greeted the Virgin Mary as “Full of Grace,” which is
enough to give us an idea of her magnificence! From the moment of her
conception she was preserved, in anticipation, of original sin by the
merits of Redemption. Mary was born with the perfection of the natural
gifts of all kinds, which God had given to His creation before Adam's
fall…
Of course, we
must not forget to add the gift of grace to all these natural gifts!
Since Mary was not marred by any personal weaknesses due to sin, nor by
any sin at all for that matter, even venial, these gifts, while filling
her with grace, were able to shine forth through her body, soul and
spirit.
Yet Mary was no
less a free creature than Adam and Eve were in Paradise, and the “Yes”
she gave Gabriel, the messenger of God, at the Annunciation, was a free
“Yes” through and through. It was a “Yes” spoken freely and by choice.
God asked her and Mary could have said “no”... However, she said “Yes,”
in absolute obedience whereas Eve, by disobeying, had caused the fall of
mankind... Mary was full of grace on one hand, but free on the other.
Like any other creature, she had to practice the moral virtues (i.e.
natural) and the theological virtues (i.e. supernatural), in order to
faithfully progress along the path that God set before her…
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