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Monday, March 26, 2012

If I was a heretic or a bishop, I would write a book about the Annunciation

Annunciation by Mati Klarwein. Also the cover of Santana's Abraxas. Groovy.

I tell me people that they can be thankful God made me lazy, or I'd write a book! And ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, the tales I can tell.
There are several little fiction pieces running around in my head, however. I just don't have the motivation or the skills in the grammar writingness to put it all together. One such tale is based on this poem by Bishop Morneau:


Annunciation
Were others asked?
A lassie from an isle in a distant sea?
A maiden in North Africa
or a slave girl from the Congo?
How many times were angels sent
and returned, unheard, unheeded?
Was Mary tenth on salvation's list.
Or the hundredth?

And you, my soul.
was fiat spoken
when the angel came?

Although the poem deviates somewhat erroneously from traditional Catholic theology (Mary was immaculately conceived, so she was not only first on the list, she was all that was on the list!), I appreciate the sort of set-up of a frustrated Gabriel over centuries looking for someone to say "yes" to bringing the savior about and being met with the negative. In my book that won't get written ever, I envision this angel visiting various women and they coming up with viable reasons to say "no". One of the women is Mary Magdalene.
Don't worry. I'm not going to write it. Plus, the whole heretical angle makes it untenable.

But despite all of that, at the end, the poem asks if the angel came-or comes- to us, and tells us that we can also bring about the savior in some way, would we be willing to say: "Yes" (fiat)?

I think we have a lot more of "yes, but" instead of "let it be done to me". Good reflection for the feast day and for Lent!