The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: S. Luke
Suarez shows that the grace possessed by the Blessed Virgin in the first instant of her conception was greater than the grace which the highest angel possesses, who by one or two acts has perfected all his merits, and therefore she merited more than thousands of men merit through their whole life. Wherefore the Blessed Virgin in this first instant loved and praised God with such earnestness of intention that she exceeded the love, and consequently also the merit, of the highest angel. But in the second instant of her co-operation and love, by means of the increase of grace which in the first instant she had merited and had in reality received, she doubled the degrees of love and consequently also of merit; and in the third instant, by doubling the same she quadrupled both merit and grace; and so in every instant, by doubling continually the grace she had received, until her death in the seventy-second year of her age, she had increased the degrees of grace and merit to such an extent that she altogether excelled in them all men and angels taken together. Wherefore she by herself alone is more acceptable to God than all the rest; and God loves the Blessed Virgin alone more than the whole Church, that is, more than all men and angels taken together. See also the Revelations of S. Bridget i. 10.
The Lord is with thee. The angel gives the reason why she was full of grace, that is, because the Lord was with her in a singular manner, so that He wrought in her the singular work of the Incarnation of the Word. S. Bernard (Serm. 3) says, “What wonder is it that she was full of grace with whom the Lord was? But this rather is to be wondered at, how He who had sent the angel to the Virgin was found by the angel with the Virgin. Was God then swifter than the angel, so that He outstripped him and reached the earth before His swift messenger? Nor is it to be wondered at. For since the king was on His couch, the sweet ointment of the Virgin gave forth its odour, and the smoke of spices went up in the sight of His glory, and she found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” And further on he shows that God is in all creatures by power, in rational beings by knowledge, in the good by love, and therefore He is with them by concord of the will, for it is by means of this that they unite themselves to God. Then he adds, “But since He is in this way with all the saints, yet He was in an especial manner with Mary, between whom and Himself there was such a consent that He joined not only her will, but her flesh to Himself, and of His own and the Virgin’s substance made one Christ; who although He is not wholely of God nor wholely of the Virgin, yet He is wholely God’s and wholely the Virgin’s, and not two sons, but the one son of both.” Then he shows that the whole Trinity was with the Blessed Virgin: “Not only is the Lord the Son with thee whom thou art clothing with thy flesh, but also the Lord the Spirit by Whom thou art conceiving, and the Lord the Father who begat Him whom thou art conceiving.”
S. Bridget (Revel. iii. 29), conversing with the Blessed Virgin, says, “Thou art made like to the Temple of Solomon, in which the true Solomon moves, and He sits who has made peace between God and man. Blessed therefore art thou, O Blessed Virgin, in whom the great God became a little child, the eternal God and invisible Creator became a visible creature.” The Blessed Virgin answers, “Why do you compare me with Solomon and his Temple, since I am the mother of Him Who has neither beginning nor end, for the Son of God, Who is my Son, is Priest and King of kings. In short, in my Temple He clothed Himself spiritually with the priestly garments in which He offered sacrifice for the world.”
Further S. Thomas (Quasi, tool, art. 4) expounds the words the Lord is with thee of the Conception and Incarnation of the Word, which was presently to take place, but which had not already taken place; as I shall show at verse 38.
Blessed art thou among women. The same was said of Jael and Judith, but it is said here of the Blessed Virgin in a far more excellent way, for she excelled Jael and Judith, and all virgins and matrons a thousand times in blessings, gifts, and graces.
S. Augustine (Serm. 18 de Sanctis) says, “Blessed art thou among women, for thou hast brought forth life both for men and women. The mother of our race brought punishment into the world; the Mother of our Lord brought salvation to the world. Eve was the originator of sin, Mary of merit.” Peter Chrysologus (Serm. 145) says on these words, “She was truly blessed, for she was greater than the heaven, stronger than the earth, wider than the world; she alone contained God, whom the world contains not; she bore Him Who bears the world; she brought forth Him by Whom she had been begotten, she gives nourishment to the Nourisher of all things living.”
Among women. That he might signify that whatever is most excellent in the threefold condition of women is found in the Blessed Virgin. For women are either virgins or widows, or living in matrimony. In virgins chastity is praised, but not barrenness; in widows liberty of mind is commended, but not solitude, for it is written (Eccles. iv. 10) “Woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth he hath not one to lift him up.” In matrimony the education of offspring in what is good is highly esteemed, but not the loss of virginity. The Blessed Virgin alone among all women possessed virginity without barrenness; liberty of mind without loss of companionship, since she was really espoused to Joseph; and what is a greater thing than these, fruitfulness in offspring without the violation of virgin chastity. And so she appropriated whatever is good in the threefold state of women, and whatever is evil she rejected. Whereupon deservedly the angel proclaims her Blessed above all women.
Ver. 29. — She was troubled. First, at the unwonted appearance, and majesty of the angel. Secondly, at his unwonted salutation. S. Jerome (Epist. 7) says, “Let a woman imitate Mary, whom Gabriel found alone in her chamber, and therefore, perhaps, she was alarmed at beholding a man whom she was not accustomed to see.” Again S. Bernard (Serm. iii. on Missus Est) says, “She was troubled, but not alarmed; her being troubled was a mark of modesty; her not being alarmed of courage; while her keeping silence and meditating was a mark of prudence.”
What manner of salutation. That is, how noble and august, and exceeding the strength and merits of all men, and therefore even her own. For she, in the greatness of her humility, thought far different, yea, even contrary things of herself. For she thought within herself; I seem to myself to be in need of all grace, how then does the angel call me full of grace, I in my poverty live and associate with poor virgins, how then does the angel proclaim to me that the Lord is with me. I esteem myself the least and lowest of all women, how then does the angel say to me, Blessed art thou among women.
Again, the Blessed Virgin was meditating to what end she was so honourably saluted by the angel; for the salutation of the angel had reference to the mystery of the Incarnation which was to be accomplished in her. But since she knew not of this end, she meditated and wondered why she was so honourably saluted by the angel. However, she made no answer, because, as S. Ambrose says, “she did not return the salutation through modesty, nor did she make any answer;” because modesty and astonishment fully occupied her mind, and restrained her tongue.
Listen again to S. Ambrose, “Know the Virgin by her modesty: or she was afraid; as it follows, and when she heard she was troubled. It is the habit of virgins to tremble and to be afraid at the approach of a man, and to be bashful when he addresses her. Learn, O virgin, to avoid lightness in talking. Mary feared even the salutation of an angel.”
Ver. 30. — And the angel said unto her, &c. The angel removes the fear, and then the rising shame of the Virgin, by the grace, that is, the favour and goodwill which he says she has found in the eyes of God above all women; first, because God chose her from all eternity above all others without merit, and of His free and gratuitous love to be His Mother, of whom he would take flesh: secondly, because as soon as she was conceived and born in time, He so adorned her with every virtue and grace that in His sight she appeared altogether pleasing and worthy to be loved by Him, and exalted above all. Thou hast therefore found favour with God on account of the virtues infused into thee by Him in a most excellent degree. The first is thy most profound humility: the second was thy angelic virginity. S. Basil, in his homily on the human generation of Christ, says, “Virginity is chosen, as being fit and next to sanctity.”
The third virtue was her most ardent charity, by which the Blessed Virgin, being desirous of the redemption of mankind and the Advent of the Messiah, used to pour forth unceasing and fervent prayers for both, and therefore she obtained both, and, further, merited herself to become the mother of the Messiah, not from grace of condignity but of congruity. So S. Bernard (Hom. 3 super Missus Est), “Thou hast found what thou wast seeking. Thou hast found what no one before thee was able to find. Thou hast found favour with God. What favour? Peace between God and man, the destruction of death, the restoration of life.” The Schoolmen everywhere teach that the Blessed Virgin merited to become the Mother of God. See Suarez. And some teach that she merited of congruity not of condignity to become the Mother of God, yet that she did not merit the Incarnation of the Word; for this is antecedent to all merit, and is the cause and origin of it.