Some time ago, a Sister in my congregation just didn’t feel right. She ached all over and was tired all the time. After a visit to the doctor and several tests, she was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. The doctors told her that her kidneys were giving out as well. Dialysis would assist her kidneys in their function, but there was no cure and no treatment for her terminal cancer. Upon hearing the news, she whispered, “Fiat!” and signed medical papers for palliative care that would make her as comfortable as possible. When our religious community at large was given the news, several of us began to tear up and felt awe at Sister Margareta’s courage. She was called to her heavenly home a mere 10 days after diagnosis.
This story reminded me of the quote written by Archbishop Alban Goodier, Archbisiop of Bombay, India, in the book, Prince of Peace, 1913: “This ‘Fiat’ of Mary is more than her own word. It is the conclusion and fulfillment of all her own longings, and of all the longings of all the holy souls that had preceded her since the days of Eve. ‘Let it be done, Let it be done,’ had been the prayer of all the ages, and at last the word had been said which was the ‘Amen’ of the litany. She speaks in the name of all the world, in the name of all creation; for her ‘Fiat’ is the acceptance for them of that union with God for which, as St. Paul says, all creation yearns. She stands between heaven and earth, linking the two together, the channel through which God chooses to pass from His throne to the cottages of men, the Mother of divine grace, the Cause of our joy, and all because she had the simplicity, and therefore the unconscious courage, to accept the call of Him who loved her: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Thy Word.'”1
Reread the words that are in bold face. The ‘yes’ of Mary is an echo found throughout all of time from those souls who are willing to proclaim that God is absolutely amazing. The modern Church calls this evangelization!
Her declaration of evangelization can be found in her song of praise, the Magnificat. Within it, she declares her unique gifts and talents as well as God’s favors on all of humanity. She screams out about how God blesses the small and weak who believe in him. She cries out what God has done in her life.
By the power of our baptism, Jesus gives us the power to proclaim our personal magnificat; what God has done for us. This is our story of how grace transforms us! This is how each of us can live our faith out loud!
It is my prayer that you will find your song of praise written on your heart and proclaim it to the entire world!
By Sister Geralyn Schmidt, SCC, Special to The Witness
1 Goodier, Alban. The Prince of Peace: Meditations. Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1949.
