‘Be it done unto me according to Thy word.’

This morning at Mass, while trying to keep my pack in line/sitting on the pew/speaking in a stage whisper rather than shouting/etc., I was struck by how unsettling yet fitting it is to be celebrating the glorious commemoration of the Incarnation only a week before Good Friday.

In many ways, the seemingly awkward juxtaposition is a perfect example of so many things about our Catholic faith; suffering joyfully (to the best of our ability) during our time here on earth. And who knows and understands this juxtaposition better than Our Lady, who spent over 30 years with Our Lord, knowing full-well through all those years that her heart would be pierced.

In honor of the feast, here is a link to an MP3 of Hans Leo Hassler’s Dixit Maria (which was much harder to find online than I would have expected).

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And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.

Author

  • Joseph Susanka

    Joseph Susanka has been doing development work for institutions of Catholic higher education since his graduation from Thomas Aquinas College in 1999. Currently residing in Lander, Wyoming — “where Stetsons meet Birkenstocks” — he is a columnist for Crisis Magazine and the Patheos Catholic portal.

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