Who turned out the lights?

“And the angel departed her.” (Luke 1:38)

Have you ever had this feeling? You get these great prayer experiences, know that God is working in your life, and nothing can go wrong. But then, suddenly, these awesome experiences are gone and God is nowhere to be found. It happens to me constantly.

Let’s take another look at Mary now, in the narrative of the Annunciation. “And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed her.” (Lk 1:38)

Just as soon as Mary is told that she is to have a child through the work of the Holy Spirit, without having relations with a man, she is left all alone. As soon as she says yes, the angel of the Lord is nowhere to be found.

This portion of the narrative shows us that Mary can relate to us when we enter those dark times of prayer. She has been where we are today, and knows exactly what we are going through. And she went through these dark times more than once. She also felt it when her son was suffering for us, and when he left us, descending to Hell to preach the Gospel there. And then when Jesus ascended into Heaven, she was left alone again. But each time she had others with her. When she was young, she had her parents, Sts. Anne and Joachim. And, when she was older at the Ascension, she had the Apostles with her to care for her. So we find that no matter how far God may seem, God is actually still there with us—we can easily find God in the ones we love and who love us, especially our Blessed Mother.

I have always heard that it is in the darkest times that we find our best prayer experiences. Because it is then that we are trying the hardest to pray.