The Annunciation
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be
(Luke 1:38).
done to me according to thy Word”
At the Annunciation, Our Blessed Lady said yes to the Angel Gabriel,
who asked her to conceive and give birth to God’s son. She freely accepted God’s will in her life. We also are free to say yes or no to God.
Mary’s yes changed the world. “Answer with a word, receive the
Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word”, wrote St Bernard of Clairvaux.
The story of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) perfectly describes the route of our spiritual journey: Before ever we seek God, He is seeking us and initiates the conversation; but we are hesitant and fearful; as we seek to understand God’s will in our life; God reminds us of our experience of His love for us, and that “nothing is impossible for God”. If we, like Mary, say yes to God, we will conceive the Word in our heart, and bring Christ’s love into our families, communities, and our world, for we shall share her joy: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for the Almighty has done great things for me” (Luke 1:46).
Walsingham
“When England goes back to Walsingham, Our Lady will come back to England.” (Pope Leo XIII). Richeldis was a widow who lived in Walsingham, and desired to do something to honour the Mother of God. It was under the reign of King Edward the Confessor, in 1061. Our Lady asked her to build a replica of the Holy House in Nazareth that would be a permanent reminder of the Annunciation. Walsingham would become known as “England’s Nazareth”. “It shall be a perpetual memorial to the great joy of the Annunciation, ground and origin of all my joys and the root of humanity’s gracious redemption. This came about through Gabriel’s message that I would be a Mother through my humility and conceive God’s Son in virginity.” Pynson Ballad (1485).
Mary’s request to Richeldis, became her message to us, to “share her joy”, that her Son has become our Saviour. Richeldis’ faith, and her Yes to Our Lady’s request, has given us a sacred place of perpetual memorial in Walsingham where we are reminded to treasure all these things and ponder them in our hearts. “O England, you have every reason to be glad that you are compared to the promised land of Sion. This glorious Lady’s grace and favour attest that you can be alled everywhere the holy land, Our Lady’s Dowry, a name given to you from of old. This title is due to the fact that here is built the house of new Nazareth in honour of our heavenly Queen and her glorious Salutation. As Gabriel hailed her with an ‘Ave’ in old Nazareth, so here that is daily remembered with joy. Therefore, Blessed Lady, grant your great grace to all who devoutly visit this place.” (Pynson Ballad, 1485)
Mary’s Dowry
“The contemplation of the great mystery of the Incarnation has drawn all Christian nations to venerate her from whom came the first beginnings of our redemption. But we English, being the servants of her special inheritance and her own dowry, as we are commonly called, ought to surpass others in the fervour of our praises and devotions.” (Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1399). Unique among all the nations, the Catholics of England have believed for centuries that their nation is, in a special way, the “Dowry of Mary.” It was believed that England belonged to Mary, who was seen as the country’s “protectress” and who, through her powers of intercession, acted as the country’s defender or guardian.
The word “dowry” (from the Latin dos, meaning “donation”) is sometimes understood as the donation accompanying a bride. In medieval English law, however, the meaning is reversed—a husband would set apart a portion of his estate designated for the good of his wife, should she become a widow. The historical meaning of England as “Mary’s Dowry” is understood in this sense; that England has been “set apart” for Mary. There is a tradition that the title goes back to St Edward the Confessor (1042 – 1066). In 1381, a time of great political unrest, King Richard II sought Our Lady’s guidance and protection, dedicating England as her Dowry in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, on the feast of Corpus Christi. “Dos tua Virgo pia haec est. Quaere leges O Mariae”, in English: “This is your Dowry, O Holy Virgin, therefore, do thou rule in it”. These words were on a painting once at the English College in Rome, which depicted King Richard II kneeling before Our Lady, making the dedication of his country to Our Lady. This image is today to be seen in the Wilton Diptych (c. 1395-1399) in the National Gallery in London.
Mary’s Dowry, therefore, is a title of England, established by an act of the King, and proclaimed by Archbishop Thomas Arundel, which has never been rescinded by Monarch or Parliament. Our Bishops have, over the years, consecrated our country to the Mother of God for her prayers and protection, and in reparation for the sins of the past. The first being at the request of Pope Leo XIII in 1893: “The wonderful love which burnt within the heart of your forefathers and mothers towards the great Mother of God … to whose service they consecrated themselves with such abundant proofs of devotion, that the kingdom itself acquired the singular and highly honourable title of ‘Mary’s Dowry”.
Article first published in Dowry 44, taken from the official page for the rededication of England On Sunday 29th March 2020