His Eminence Cardinal Poola Anthony
Archbishop of Hyderabad
Archbishop's Message
The Lord God’s promise of everlasting covenantal life in the Holy Spirit with Himself for the Remnant of Israel (Ezek.36:26-27 and 37:20-28) was reiterated and confirmed by Him in the fifth servant song of Deutero-Isaiah (Is.61:1-3). Herein He disclosed, that this covenantal life in the Holy Spirit would be merited by the sufferings and sacrificial death of His promised servant (Is.53:10-12) and personally bestowed on them by him: ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, for He has anointed me…
to give to Zion’s mourners a garland in place of ashes, the oil of gladness in place of mourning dress, festal dress in place of despondency; and they will be called ‘terebinths of righteousness’ planted by the Lord God to glorify Him.’
In Is. 61:10, the Lord God disclosed the response of the Remnant of Israel after receiving this promised covenantal life with Himself in the Holy Spirit:
‘I exult for joy in the Lord God, My soul rejoices in my God,for He has clothed me in garments of salvation, He has wrapped me in a cloak of His saving justice, Like a bridegroom wearing his garland, Like a bride adorned in her jewels.’
Compare this prophesied response of the Remnant of Israel with the actual historical response of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth’s loud acclamation in the Holy Spirit of the divine motherhood conferred upon her by the Lord God for the historical realization of the incarnation of His only begotten Son as our Lord Jesus Christ in view of His imminent historical bestowal of His promised covenantal life in the Holy Spirit through Him on the contemporary community of the Remnant of Israel (on Pentecost day):
‘My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; For He has looked on the lowliness of His handmaid, For behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. And His mercy is from generation to generation to them who fear Him.’
By doing so, not only shall we discover the content of ‘the great things’ done in Her by the Lord God, but we shall also discover that by saluting the Blessed Virgin Mary in his words ‘Hail, full of grace,’ the Angel Gabriel was declaring to Her that the Lord God had bestowed on her this promised covenantal life in the Holy Spirit in fullness at the very moment He had brought her into existence in the womb of her own mother (St. Ann) in view of Her divine maternity for the historical incarnation of His only begotten Son for the salvation of all those who fear Him from generation to generation until the end of time. This is the mystery of Her Immaculate Conception which we too acclaim and joyfully celebrate as we hail her in the very words of Angel Gabriel every time, we utter the words of the Hail Mary as we pray the Holy Rosary to Her Immaculate Heart: “Hail Mary, full of grace!” May this holy joy be ours in the Holy Spirit during this month of October.