Ave Maria Meditations
A meditation from St Lawrence of Brindisi:
A new messenger of God greeted a new woman in a new way according to a new and unspoken mystery, a new and unspoken sacrament. “Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you.” This is a new form of greeting, never heard by another, never before encountered. Because this greeting was unique in the history and customs of men, when Mary heard it, she was confused and amazed by the novelty of it all.
There is very deep meaning in this greeting. The angel did not wish for and offer a prayer of peace for Mary in the customary way of those who give greetings, but he made an affirmation in his greeting to Mary the celestial groomsman is not wishing nor offering a prayer of peace for the Virgin, but announcing and affirming that she already possesses this peace.
The greeting, shalom, i.e.peace, for the Hebrews, as those skilled in this language knew, does not only signify concord and tranquility, but also happiness…This is what hail or ave signifies in the angel’s greeting, namely, peace is with you, the peace, to be sure, of God, a peace which passes all understanding (Phil 4:7). The words hail full of grace mean, therefore, happy and blessed are you who are full of grace. This is because peace for the Hebrews denotes perfect happiness and, further, because God is said to dwell in peace just as He is said to dwell in unapproachable light (cf. 1 Tim 6:16).
Since there is no happiness without pleasure, gladness, or joy, peace also signifies joy and gladness. Therefore by greeting the Virgin in this way, the angel indicated that she would be inundated with the greatest joy and experience great exultation. It is just as the divine prophet Zechariah said to the Church: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you (Zech 9:9). What Zechariah means is that the highest cause of joy and exultation is for God, the king and author of all good things to come to a person; His presence is the highest happiness.
Furthermore, it is clear to observation that in his salutation Gabriel did not just greet the Virgin lovingly and show her reverence, but he also happily and gladly rejoiced with her. The cause of his joy and his happiness was most bountiful. From this annunciation, which made God most glad and was at the same time a thing most pleasing to angels and to men, the New Testament seems to have received the name of Gospel, Good News, Evangelium. Gabriel’s announcement was a proclamation of the happiest news to mankind, namely, the grace and mercy of God, the remission of sin, the abundant blessings of the riches of heaven, and, finally, eternal life, glory and happiness. All these things are contained in his divine salutation, virtually, just as the fruit is contained in the root of the tree.
