Did Mary Ever Say ‘YES’? A Reflection on the Fiat of Mary in the Context of the Month of the Holy Rosary
By Rev Dr. Theobald T. Muchunguzi, M.Afr., Adjunct Lecturer – Faculty of Theology
In the Catholic Church, October is traditionally observed as the Month of the Holy Rosary, a period particularly dedicated to the prayer of the Rosary and to devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This devotion is associated with the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated annually on 7th October. The memorial has its historical origins in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), when the Christian forces attributed their victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoked especially through the prayer of the Rosary.
The answer to the question above may appear so obvious that some might even wonder whether it is worth asking. Others may find the question provocative, or perhaps even theologically unsettling. But yet the question deserves to be asked!
If I were to ask you to provide the exact biblical evidence in which Mary herself is recorded as uttering the affirmative word ‘Yes,’ you would most probably and immediately point to what has traditionally come to be known as Mary’s fiat: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
Strictly speaking, therefore, Mary does not say the word ‘Yes’ or a momentary act of consent. Rather, her response takes the form of a prayerful profound declaration of faith, humility, obedient submission, total surrender and complete openness to God’s salvific will. Her fiat is therefore more than a verbal affirmation. It is an existential ‘Yes’ of a woman who freely entrusts herself to God and allows her entire life to become an instrument of God’s saving plan. Her ‘Yes’ becomes a way of life, continually reaffirmed and embodied throughout the whole trajectory of her earthly pilgrimage.
For many of us who are priests and religious men and women, and even for married couples, our “Yes” is solemnly and publicly pronounced with conviction before God and the Christian community. Yet, deep within our hearts, that ‘Yes’ can sometimes become qualified as: Yes and no; yes, sometimes; yes, depending on the circumstances; or yes, provided that it suits my expectations.
Our solemn ‘Yes’ can gradually become weakened by compromise, hesitation, and self-interest. Today, the commitment to an unconditional ‘Yes’ faces a particular challenge as we navigate the complexities of a globalized, secularized, relativistic, and increasingly digital culture. Our constant exposure to competing values, beliefs, opinions and worldviews have largely undermined the permanence and fidelity demanded by our commitments.
Let us look back in history! When St Cyprian of Carthage (c. 210-258) articulated the famous axiom Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus - ‘outside the Church there is no salvation,’ the expression was later interpreted, as an absolute condemnation of pagans, non-believers, and those outside visible communion with the Church.
However, Cyprian’s immediate context and intention were more specific: His concern was principally the unity of the Church and the consequences of schism and heresy. He was rather addressing Christians who had received baptism and professed faith in Christ but whose actions had contradicted that profession by separating themselves from the unity of the Church.
In our context, Cyprian’s teaching challenges us to examine the authenticity of our professed faith. Our public ‘Yes’ to Christ must correspond to a lived ‘Yes’ in Christian life, selfless service and ecclesial communion. This resonates strongly with the teaching of Christ himself: ‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven,’ (Mt 7:21).
Lecturers, students, members of the academic community, and the entire CUEA family, our ‘Yes’ will remain an empty and abstract concept if it is not translated into a tangible and enduring commitment to academic excellence, intellectual integrity, scientific rigor in research, responsible creation and dissemination of knowledge and selfless service to our community and society. Those around Mary may not have heard her voice when she spoke in the intimacy of that divine encounter, but they could see the fruit in the way she lived, served, endured and remained faithful.
And so, the question before us today is both simple and demanding: Can those who encounter us easily see the ‘Yes’ we once pronounced? Can our students see it in the way we teach? Can our colleagues see it in the way we collaborate? Can our research reveal it in our quest for truth? Can our service demonstrate it in our integrity and our commitment to the common good?
Mary’s fiat is a compelling model of faith which challenges us today to rediscover the meaning of a ‘Yes’ that is not dictated by convenience or circumstances, but rooted in an unwavering trust in God and fidelity to his will.
May our ‘Yes’ be visible in everything we are, everything we do, and everything we give in service of truth, the Church and humanity.