Magd des Herrn Handmaid of the Lord

The Light of Assent
The Soul of the Mother
Mary and the Angel
Motherhood
The Visitation
The Magnificat
Mary and Joseph
Expectation and Birth
The Presentation in the Temple
Nazareth
Jesus at Twelve
The Departure
The Marriage Feast at Cana
The Rejections
Golgotha
Mary and John
Easter
Pentecost
Death and Assumption
Mary in the Church
The Mother and Prayer
The Vocation of the Mother
The Mother and Mankind

As a sheaf of grain is tied together in the middle and spreads out at either end, so Mary’s life is bound together by her assent. From this assent her life receives its meaning and form and unfolds toward past and future. This single, all-encompassing act accompanies her at every moment of her existence, illuminates every turning point of her life, bestows upon every situation its own particular meaning and in all situations gives Mary herself the grace of renewed understanding. Her assent gives full meaning to every breath, every movement, every prayer of the Mother of God. This is the nature of an assent: It binds the one who gives it, yet it allows him complete freedom in shaping its expression. He fills his assent with his personality, giving it its weight and unique coloring. But he himself is also molded, liberated and fulfilled by his assent. All freedom develops through surrender and through renunciation of liberty. And from this freedom within commitment there arises every sort of fruitfulness.

From “The Light of Assent”