"Every earthly mind is vanquished, pondering the all-glorious things thou declarest unto me," answered the Virgin; "I have heard thy words, yet am in fear and terror, lest through deception thou send me far away from God. Yet, behold! I cry out: ‘Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely forever!"

... ... ...

"Thou showest thyself to me as a herald of the truth," the Virgin said, "for thou hast come as a harbinger of common joy. I have therefore cleansed soul and body. Be it unto me according to thy word, that God may dwell in me, to Whom I cry out with thee:'‘Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely forever!'"

Ode 8 of the Matins Canon of Annunciation – Troparia 1 and 5

The matins canon for Annunciation is presented as a conversation between the Theotokos and the Archangel Gabriel. In it, the Theotokos is trying to understand the Archangel’s astonishing news. She is filled with joy, but also with caution and fear. "I ... am in fear and terror, lest through deception thou send me far away from God."

Being pure, she knew far better than most of us what deception does – it leads us away from God. And only somebody who is very close to God can truly appreciate the horrors of being separated from Him. So, in her humility and her great love, she is not quick to accept the Archangel’s words – for fear of harming her relationship with God.

The conversation continues until finally the Theotokos is convinced that the Archangel is telling the truth. Then, she says, "Thou showest thyself to me as a herald of the truth, for thou hast come as a harbinger of common joy."

How does she finally become convinced that Gabriel is telling the truth? Yes, it is because he is the messenger of common joy – a joy common to angels and men. But how does she know that this joyous news that he pronounces is true? The simple answer is that she has "discernment." But that is like saying that migratory birds know what to do by "instinct" – it is a term that means "I don’t really know."

Of course, on its lowest level, discernment has a lot to do with common sense. But it is far more than that. It is a gift of God that only the pure in heart can have in full. As for the rest of us, the eyes of our hearts are too blinded by our sins to be able to see clearly. The Theotokos had "cleansed soul and body." Her eyes could see because there was nothing covering them. Because God was already dwelling richly in her spiritually, she was able to realize that He had chosen her to bear Him bodily.

So, if we wish to bear Christ spiritually, let’s start with the humility that makes us very slow to trust ourselves and quick to rely on Christ and His Church. Let us cleanse soul and body of everything that takes us "far away from God." Then, we too can bear Christ in our hearts.

Reprinted from the Spring 2009 issue of The Handmaiden Journal (Vol. 13, No. 2)