"Mary is the Gate through which Christ entered this world!" —St. Ambrose
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Annunciation as "inaugurat[ing] 'the fullness of time', the time of the fulfilment of God's promises." It is a pivotal moment in human history. As the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) states: "Many holy fathers (Sts. Jerome, Cyril, Ephraim, Augustine) say that the consent of Mary was essential to the redemption. It was the will of God, St. Thomas says (Summa III:30), that the redemption of mankind should depend upon the consent of the Virgin Mary. This does not mean that God in His plans was bound by the will of a creature, and that man would not have been redeemed if Mary had not consented. It only means that the consent of Mary was foreseen from all eternity, and therefore was received as essential into the design of God."
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