74. The Annunciation: Necessity, Messenger, and Mode

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Necessity of the Annunciation #

• Whether Mary required specific announcement that she would conceive Christ, given that prophecy concerning her was already made
• The distinction between general faith in the Incarnation versus particular knowledge of one’s own role
• Augustine’s principle that Mary was “more blessed in perceiving the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh”
• The role of humility: Mary’s virtue meant she would not suspect great things of herself without instruction
• Three purposes of the announcement:
  • To establish proper order: the mind must be instructed before the body conceives
  • To provide Mary as a certain witness to the mystery
  • To allow voluntary consent (“Behold the handmaid of the Lord”) rather than mere passive occurrence
  • To represent a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature, with Mary’s consent standing for all humanity

Why Gabriel, Not Direct Divine Announcement? #

• The objection: Mary is exalted above all angels, so should receive revelation directly from God as the highest angels do
• Thomas’s response: Though exalted in dignity, Mary in her earthly state (viator) remains below angels in status and requires angelic mediation
• The divine order: God’s established pattern is that divine things reach humans through angels as intermediaries
• Reparation argument: The fall began with a demon deceiving a woman (Eve); redemption fittingly begins with a good angel instructing a woman (Mary)
• Virginity connection: Virginity naturally associates with angels; an angel announcing to a virgin maintains this connection
• Gabriel’s specific role: He is highest among the archangels (not the seraphim, the highest order), suitable for announcing the highest mysteries
• Gabriel’s name: Means “the power of God” (fortitude of God), fitting for announcing the Lord of Powers who would fight against demons

The Problem of Angelic Knowledge #

• Objection: The highest angels do not fully know the mystery of the Incarnation, so how could Gabriel announce it?
• Response: Angels knew the Incarnation would occur but not all the reasons and modes of it; they desired to understand more perfectly
• The angels asked in Isaiah 63: “Who is this who comes up from Edom?” showing their desire for deeper understanding
• What remained hidden from them: the “unsearchable conception” and the mode of how Christ remained whole in the Father, whole throughout the universe, and whole in the womb

Gabriel’s Place in the Angelic Hierarchy #

• The claim that Gabriel is “highest among the angels” must be qualified
• Gabriel is of the order of archangels (next to the lowest of the nine orders), not of the highest order (seraphim)
• Yet he is highest within his own order of archangels
• This is fitting because archangels are those who announce the highest things
• His name reflects his office: Gabriel means the power/fortitude of God, appropriate for announcing the Incarnation and the Lord of Powers
• Comparison with other archangels: Michael (“Who is like God?”) and Raphael (“God’s medication”)

Key Arguments #

For the Necessity of Announcing to Mary #

Objection 1 - Prophecy without consent:

• Prophecy about Mary’s role was already made (e.g., Isaiah); prophecy is fulfilled without human choice or consent
• Therefore, no announcement to Mary herself was necessary

Response 1:

• Prophecy is completed without our choice as cause, but not without our judgment consenting
• Prophecy’s fulfillment in reality does not remove the need for the person’s knowledge and consent

Objection 2 - Mary already had faith:

• Mary possessed faith in the Incarnation (required for salvation); one who believes with certitude needs no further instruction
• Therefore, announcement was unnecessary

Response 2:

• Mary had express faith about the future Incarnation in general
• Being humble, she did not suspect such great things about herself specifically
• Therefore, she required instruction about her particular role

Objection 3 - Spiritual conception requires no announcement:

• Christians spiritually conceive Christ through faith (Galatians 4: “until Christ is formed in you”)
• Yet we receive no announcement from angels that we should do this
• Therefore, Mary should not have required announcement of her bodily conception

Response 3:

• Spiritual conception is preceded by preaching of faith (Romans 10: “faith comes from hearing”)
• Those who spiritually conceive through faith know the truth of faith received, but not with certainty that they have grace
• Mary’s bodily conception, being unique and unprecedented, required specific divine instruction beyond what general faith provides

For Angelic Rather Than Direct Divine Announcement #

Objection 1 - Direct revelation to the highest:

• The highest angels receive revelation immediately from God, not through intermediaries (Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy 7)
• Mary is exalted above all angels
• Therefore, she should receive revelation directly from God

Response 1 - Status vs. Dignity:

• Mary is exalted in dignity by her divine election
• But in her present status (viator state), she is below the angels
• Even Christ, during his earthly suffering life, is described as “a little less than the angels” (Psalm 8)
• Since Mary was not yet in the state of those seeing God face to face, she required instruction by angels

Objection 2 - Male mediation:

• The common order is that divine things are revealed to men through angels, and to women through men (1 Corinthians 14)
• Joseph was instructed about the mystery; therefore Mary should have been instructed through Joseph

Response 2 - Mary’s independence from male mediation:

• Augustine notes in his Sermon on the Assumption that Mary is “accepted as an exception to certain general rules”
• She neither conceived through a man nor was under a man’s power
• She received Christ from the Holy Spirit directly; therefore instruction came through an angel, not a man
• This is why Mary was instructed before conception, while Joseph was instructed after (when he discovered her pregnancy)

Objection 3 - Angels don’t fully understand it:

• The highest angels did not fully know the mystery of the Incarnation
• Therefore, no angel could suitably announce it

Response 3 - Partial vs. Perfect Knowledge:

• Angels did know the mystery of the Incarnation (contra the objection)
• But they did not know all the reasons for it—the manner and mode of it
• What remained hidden: how the Lord’s conception was to be, how he remained whole in the Father, whole in the universe, and whole in the womb
• The angels desired to understand these reasons more perfectly

Objection 4 - Highest things to highest beings:

• The greatest thing (Incarnation) should be announced to the greatest beings (highest angels, the seraphim)
• Gabriel is of the archangels, the next-to-lowest order
• Therefore, Gabriel was unsuitable to announce the Incarnation

Response 4 - Gabriel as highest among archangels:

• While Gabriel is not of the highest order overall, he is highest within his own order of archangels
• Archangels are specifically those who announce the highest things (Gregory)
• Gabriel’s name means “power of God,” fitting for announcing the Incarnation and the “Lord of Powers”
• His office determines his rank for this task, not his position in the overall hierarchy

Important Definitions #

Viator vs. Comprehensor #

• Viator (wayfarer): One on the earthly journey, not yet seeing God face to face; requires instruction through created means
• Comprehensor: One who has reached the beatific vision; knows divine things directly without mediation
• Mary at the Annunciation was a viator, though destined to become comprehensor

Congruentia (Congruence/Fittingness) #

• The theological principle that something is “suitable” or “fitting” given the nature and dignity of the parties involved
• Thomas argues the Annunciation was congruent with Mary’s state, dignity, and the order God established

The Annunciation vs. The Incarnation #

• The Annunciation (March 25): The angel’s announcement to Mary; when Mary’s will consents to the mystery
• The Incarnation: The actual conception of the Word in Mary’s womb; the metaphysical event announced
• Christmas (December 25): The birth of Christ; nine months after the Incarnation
• The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates the Incarnation itself, not merely the announcement

Gabriel’s Name #

• Gabriel: Composed of two Hebrew elements
• Means “fortitude/power of God” or “God is strong”
• Reflects his office: to announce the Incarnation and the Lord of Powers who fights against demons
• Contrasts with Michael (“Who is like God?”) and Raphael (“God’s healing/medication”)

Examples & Illustrations #

The Parallel of Fall and Redemption (Bede) #

• The Fall: A demon (bad angel) is sent to a woman (Eve), deceiving her through pride
• Redemption: An angel (good angel) is sent to a woman (Mary), instructing her through humility
• The reversal shows how redemption recapitulates and corrects the fall
• Eve was deceived; Mary is instructed in truth
• This parallelism is fitting for the restoration of man through Christ

Joseph vs. Mary’s Vision #

• Joseph received imaginative vision (in sleep) because he already had sensible evidence (Mary’s pregnancy)
• Mary received bodily vision because the announced event had no precedent and required the highest certainty
• Different modes suit different circumstances and degrees of certitude required

Virginity and Angels (Jerome) #

• Jerome notes that the angel was sent to a virgin because “virginity is always next to the angels”
• Virginity is a kind of heavenly life in the flesh
• Christ’s words to the Sadducees: those in heaven “are like the angels of heaven; they neither marry nor are given in marriage”
• Thus, an angel announcing to a virgin maintains this natural association

The Lily in Annunciation Imagery #

• Traditional artistic depictions show the lily, symbol of virginity
• The Annunciation is the feast of the Incarnation itself, marking when God became flesh
• The lily represents Mary’s perpetual virginity maintained through the conception

Questions Addressed #

Question 1: Was announcement to Mary necessary? #

Core Issue: How can the Annunciation be necessary if the Incarnation was already prophesied and Mary already had faith?

Resolution:

• General prophecy and particular knowledge are distinct
• General faith in the Incarnation differs from specific knowledge of one’s own role
• Mary’s humility prevented her from suspecting herself as the chosen vessel
• The announcement allowed her voluntary consent, making her an active participant in redemption
• Augustine’s principle: faith in the mystery is more blessed than its bodily conception

Question 2: Why through an angel, not directly from God? #

Core Issue: If Mary is exalted above angels, should she not receive revelation directly as the highest angels do?

Resolution:

• Dignity and status are distinct; Mary is exalted in dignity but not in her earthly status (viator)
• God maintains the order of revelation through angelic mediation to humans
• Mary’s case is an exception to the general rule requiring male mediation, since she did not depend on a man for conception
• Gabriel, though not the highest angel overall, is highest among archangels and suitable for announcing the highest mysteries

Question 3: Why should announcement precede conception? #

Core Issue: If the Incarnation was divinely predetermined, why require Mary’s knowledge and consent?

Resolution:

• The announcement establishes proper order: the mind instructed before the body conceives
• It allows Mary to be a certain witness to the mystery
• It permits voluntary self-offering (“Behold the handmaid of the Lord”)
• It represents a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature, with Mary’s consent standing for all humanity

Pedagogical Notes #

Berquist employs Thomas’s scholastic method systematically:

1. Question posed: Is it suitable/necessary that…?
2. Objections (multiple): What arguments suggest it was not necessary/suitable?
3. Response (Respondeo): Thomas’s answer with reasoning
4. Reply to objections: Systematic responses addressing each difficulty

Berquist frequently clarifies terminology, provides examples from students’ experience, and draws connections to liturgical practice and patristic sources, making dense theological material accessible.