Rejoice (Lk 1:28): Mary, Witness of Joy

“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28): Mary, witness of the joy of the Gospel.

Rejoice (Lk 1:28): introduction

Rejoice (Lk 1:28) is the first word that the Angel Gabriel addresses to Mary at the Annunciation. The whole message of the Gospel begins with this invitation to joy: “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” The “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28 is not a conventional greeting: it is the announcement of the fulfillment of the messianic promises.

I. Rejoice (Lk 1:28): the biblical context

The “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28 echoes three great oracles of the Old Testament: “Exult, rejoice, daughter of Zion” (Zeph 3:14); “Shout for joy and rejoice, daughter of Zion, for behold, I come to dwell in your midst” (Zech 2:14); “Exult with joy, daughter of Zion” (Zech 9:9). In Mary, the “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28 is fulfilled: she is the Daughter of Zion par excellence, in whom God comes to dwell.

II. Mary, witness of joy

Mary responds to the “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28 with the Magnificat: “My spirit exults with joy in God, my Savior” (Lk 1:47). Mary’s joy is messianic joy: joy because of God’s presence, not because of human circumstances. That is why Mary is, in the Church, the witness par excellence of the joy of the Gospel. Where Mary is, there is joy.

III. Rejoice (Lk 1:28) in the liturgy

The Christian liturgy made the “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28 its own in its antiphons: Ave Maria, gratia plena is a literal translation of the Greek “chaire, kecharitoméne.” The devotion of the Hail Mary and the prayer of the Angelus prolong the Annunciation’s “Rejoice” (Lk 1:28) throughout the day, keeping the Church in a state of Marian joy.

IV. Mary and the joy of the Gospel

In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis presents Mary as “Star of the New Evangelization” and “Mother of the living Gospel.” The joy of the Gospel begins with the “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28. Whoever encounters Mary encounters the joy of Christ. The Marian saints (Bernard, Bonaventure, Louis de Montfort, Maximilian Kolbe) all bore witness to this Marian joy.

V. Rejoice (Lk 1:28) today

Welcoming the “Rejoice” of Lk 1:28 today means opening oneself to the grace that makes Mary’s yes possible. Like Mary, we are called to pass from fear (“she was troubled,” Lk 1:29) to trust (“let it be done to me,” Lk 1:38). To go deeper, consult the exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.

Deepen your studies: explore the Mariology portal, Marian Theology, and the biblical Mariology of Locus Mariologicus.