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Preparatory Prayer  (p. 95).

e admire  the  creative  word  of  God,  by  which heaven and  earth  were  called  into  existence. But Mary's  word,  "Be  it  done  to  me  according to  thy  word,"  is  even  mightier  and  more  efficacious; for  it  commands  the  obedience  even  of the  almighty  Creator. Without this  word  of humility  and  obedience  the  incarnation  of  our divine Saviour  would  not  have  been  accomplished. Mary does  not  say,  "I  accept  the  proposal,  I  agree to  the  proposition,"  nor  does  she  use  other  words of similar  import. She simply  says,  "Be  it  done to  me  according  to  thy  word." It was  not  her own choice,  nor  her  own  decision,  but  a  voluntary, full, and  complete  surrender  to  the  will  of  God that the  message  found  in  Mary's  soul,  which was expressed  in  these  words. What a  source  of consolation  to  her  in  the  subsequent  sorrowful and afflicted  stages  of  her  life  was  this  complete surrender to  God's  will! It comprised  the  tranquilizing  assurance  that  He  to  whose  designs  she submitted, would  endow  her  with  the  fortitude and  strength  necessary  to  co-operate  with them.