"The Mary who touches me"

The Mary who touches me is humble and simple. She is not the queen of heaven, crowned with stars, but rather this very poor, young girl to whom the angel of the Lord came to ask to be the mother of the Son of God. To this incredible proposal, she said yes and accepted her destiny: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word."

God chose Mary, the modest, the pure, the only one worthy of carrying His son.

I like to think of her astonishment, her amazement even, on the day of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel asked her nothing other than to be the mother of God! How could that be? Mother of God... One can transmit bodily life to one's child, passing on one's own humanity…but how does one welcome a divinity, how do you carry Him within you? It's an incredible mystery, one of the most beautiful in the Gospel, a mystery of love.

Michael Lonsdale (French actor and author, d. 2020)

Excerpt from the preface to his book Belle et douce Marie (Beautiful and Sweet Mary, Editions Philippe Rey, Paris 2017)