The key here lies in the Archangels salutation, Hail Full of Grace!. Remember that at that point in time, the ancient Hebrews were under the control of Rome. The salutation, Hail, was NEVER used for anyone. Even foreign kings, poweful generals in the Roman army, procurators, governors (Roman), and extremely wealthy Roman citizens (like Crassus) were not honored with this salutation. Except for one person: the Caesars - the Roman emperors. The Archangels salutation or greeting to Mary shows, without a doubt, that Mary IS a Queen, an Empress. For non-Catholics who belittle the Blessed Mother or even dismiss her importance in salvation history must take this into account. The Bible has to be studied by taking into account the culture of the ancients, society structure, the setting, the circumstance in which the event occurs, etc. Second, the Archangel gave Her the HIGHEST degree of honor (earthly and heavenly) by, Full of Grace!. What does it mean to be Full of Grace?. The expalanation is twofold: Full meant in toto, totally, completely, perfectly - lacking nothing. Absolute perfection. The Grace he refers to is heavenly grace which Only comes from God. And who can stand before the indescribebable purity and majesty of God, His awesome and terrible power, a God whom Nothing can encompass nor limit? Who can enter His Kingdom? Only those who are Full of Grace (please read The Books of Isiah, Exodus, etc. Hint: If youre less than that and Not purified, youre going to perish). So imagine being addressed as an Empress by an Angel from Heaven and then as if that werent enough, be addressed, Full of Grace! So the Archangels message for all generations to come is nothing less than, Hail, my Queen, Perfect in Purity and Goodness!. It is so Magnificent that I cant even wrap my brain around it. It is beyond Beautiful. It is only fitting for the Son of God, the Incarnation, would only be allowed to be made flesh through this Most Magnificent creature, named Mary. If you do not believe in Marys role in salvation history - There is something severely lacking in how you see God. Believe me, if you only know, even a little bit, God and His unspeakable Purity, Magnificence, and Awesomeness, you will Not find it in your sinful heart to belittle Her and cast Her aside.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 17:46:17 +0000
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