26
Merton describes her, through which man can see God; her love and her will make her as an
“obedient glass” so transparent that she disappears in the revelation of the reality beyond. 96 St.
John Paul II asserts that she is Christ’s “purest and most transparent reflection…;” 97 in her and
through her one can behold the mystery of creation and the mystery of Christ’s espousal to his
Bride, the Church. Moreover, in her complete submission to the plan of God, she represents the
perfect model of that peaceful interior gaze of which St. John Paul II refers. 98 The Holy Father
describes this motherly gaze as ever fixed on Christ and “afire with the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit.” 99 It is a gaze focused on the knowledge of her dignity as a creature of God and on her
unconditional cooperation with her Son’s mission, while still resting in complete trust and
abandonment in mystical union with her holy Spouse.
In his on-line article, “Annunciation and Agony,” Father Mervyn Duffy reflects on the
juxtaposition of these two events as portrayed in the church of St. Francis de Sales and All Souls
in Auckland, New Zealand. 100 In stained glass windows positioned opposite each other in the
sanctuary, the artist has featured two gardens, one depicting Mary’s fiat, “Behold the handmaid
of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word,” and the other illustrating Jesus’ submission
to the Father, “… not my will, but thine be done.” 101 Fr. Duffy observes that they “are both
incidents where a momentous choice is demanded, and both times the decision is to obey the will
of God.” 102 In a sense, this parallel between Mary’s “yes” and Jesus’ “yes” goes far beyond mere
juxtaposition; rather, their united fiat becomes the most perfect response to the mystery of
96
Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions Publishing, 2007), 172.
John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae [On the Most Holy Rosary], Vatican.va, October 16, 2002, sec.
16, accessed May 27, 2018, https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2002/documents/hf_jp-
ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.html.
98
John Paul II, “Creation as a Fundamental and Original Gift,” sec. 1.
99
John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, sec. 10.
100
Mervyn Duffy, “Annunciation and Agony,” Marist Messenger, April 30, 2016, acce