ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD: TO THE GENESIS OF LIFE.

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March 25 2020: Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

READINGS: Is 7:10-14; 8:10; 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38.
A Congolese proverb says, “Children are the reward of life.” Another Tibetan proverb adds, “Who saves a life, saves the whole world.”
Today’s solemnity marks the starting point of a mystery which will be fully manifest in nine months, the Mystery of Incarnation. God, today, becomes man into the womb of a humble Virgin. At the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel reveals to Mary God’s plan on her life. To that project, Mary gives her “Fiat voluntas tua!” (Thy will be done), and in her humility, she conceives the Son of God, the Savior of humanity, by the power of the Holy Spirit. At the very moment of Mary’s consent to God’s will, the Son of Man started his being as a man.
One of the most beautiful lessons we can learn from the mystery of the Annunciation is about “where and when does life start?” This is also one greatest bioethics’ questions. When is the real beginning of life? At which moment can a fetus be called a human being? Through these questions, we raise a concern on many social and actual political and medical questions, among which that of abortion and the genetic manipulation of human embryonic stem cells.
The Catechism, about the Annunciation, says, “The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates "the fullness of time", the time of the fulfillment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell "bodily".” That fullness of time here mentioned is nothing else than the start of God’s life as a human being. So, life starts at that first minute of the conception and it is life in its fullness. Fetus or embryos are not half-human beings. They are fully man, with all that it means to be a man, deserving of the same rights and respect we enjoy.
The readings proposed to our mediation lead us to reflect on the mystery of incarnation, its prophetic announcement through Isaiah to King Ahaz and its completion in Mary. Through Isaiah, the Lord God announces to Ahaz the sign of the virginal conception: “the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!”
The Lord God chose to be with his people, and he did it under the ciphers of a little child. This started at conception. From that time of the childbearing of the virgin, God was with his people. Under the marks of the unborn child, it is God being with mankind, with his full image and likeness.
The fulfillment of that prophecy made to Ahaz needs the consent of man, that is our disposition and openness to do God’s will. We all are called to be able to say like the Psalmist, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.” The author of the Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes it the more. God needs human approval, our “Fiat voluntas tua” for him to become one of us.
The Gospel teaches us that we have got a representative. Mary, on the behalf of the whole humanity, said that “Fiat”: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” After what, God became one of us.
God’s Son, incarnates into the womb of the Virgin of Nazareth is one of us and one with us (Emmanuel), from that very moment of the Annunciation. Children also are “one of us” from the first hour of conception. Abortion in that sense becomes a denial of their rights. It is a refusal to God, of his right to be born in our likeness. God needs our yes. When we give our consent to abortion or any law allowing genetic manipulation of human embryonic stem cells, we are like saying “No” to God’s request to be with us. Through the practice of Abortion, how many “Emmanuel” we exterminate under the cover of the law, while their coming was to bring about the same joy Elisabeth and John felt at the visitation of Mary and Jesus.
The mystery of the incarnation is a mystery of joy, just like every new conception is a cause of joy. God coming to be with us calls us to love him through his Incarnate Son. This mystery calls us also to show more love for children and mostly to the unborn.
In a world strived by so many negativist laws on life, a world where human life is in loss of value, reflecting on God’s Incarnation sounds like a strong warning. We are called to be pro-life and make ours the basic principles of bioethics: respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. It is all about respecting the principle of the autonomy of each life, starting with the fetus, from the first moment of the conception till the natural death. The principle non-maleficence, that is, to prevent oneself from inflicting any pain unto life, and mostly the life of defenseless and vulnerable people. The principle of beneficence, that is, to show kindness and love to all human beings. Do Orione would say, to “do good to all.” And lastly, the principle of justice: to treat all beings as if we were acting with ourselves.
May God, coming to be with us (Emmanuel), elevate our awareness of these basic principles for the betterment and humanization of our world.     


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