March 2026: Mary's Fiat and the Path to Salvation

This episode explores the significance of Mary's 'Fiat' in Luke 1, her humility, obedience, and her role as a model of faith during Lent. It also highlights inspiring stories of faith and devotion, encouraging listeners to deepen their own faith journey.

Through thoughtful questions and shared reflection, this episode invites youth into deeper engagement with their faith—both personally and as part of a growing community.

Listeners are invited to subscribe and receive updates by enrolling in the Youth Guild.

Enrollment is FREE and includes these special benefits:

• A medal of St. José Sánchez Del Río, blessed by Cardinal Raymond Burke
• Holy Mass offered for the Youth Guild on the second Saturday of each month, and on Saint José’s Feast Day (February 10)
• The printed Full of Grace Youth Journal, mailed monthly, so members can follow along with each episode through guided prayer and reflection

To enroll, visit youthguild.org, click Enroll, and complete the online form.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Youth Guild and Lenten Reflection
02:08 Mary's Fiat and Its Significance
04:35 The Role of Mary in Salvation History
06:48 The Story of Akash Bashir: A Modern Martyr
09:09 Addressing Youth Questions and Spiritual Growth
12:22 Encouragement for Artistic Expression and Conclusion

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

This is Stories from the Guild, a podcast produced by the Youth Guild of St. Jose Sanchez del Rio. The Youth Guild is an outreach of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. All youths, from toddlers to teenagers ages 2 to 17, are welcome to enroll for free. We welcome you to listen to this month's episode as we reflect and pray together as we read through our journal entitled Full of Grace. Let's begin.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Dear brothers and sisters, welcome to the month of March. We are now deep into the season of Lent, fully engulfed in our penance, prayer, and fasting, preparing for the great Pasque, the celebration of Easter. In this month, we will take time to mark an important moment in God's plan of salvation. In Luke chapter 1, verse 38, we hear Mary's response to the Archangel Gabriel when he revealed that she will bear a son, who will be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. This response is often referred to her fiat, her yes to God's plan. This is the moment that leads to the incarnation of Jesus Christ taking on our sinful flesh that opened the path to our redemption, the possibility of eternal life in heaven. It is in this title, in the middle of our Lenten journey, we celebrate and contemplate what her yes means on your path to holiness. The upcoming celebration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus was all hinged on this fiat of Our Lady. It is up to you to embrace this imitation of Our Lady who implores you in the self-proclaimed title as handmaids of the Lord. Are you imitating her in charity and humility? Do you take time to say yes to what God has planned in your life? This is an important question we must ask ourselves in this season of Lent, during this period of reflection and sacrifice, as you draw ever closer to our Lord. May the yes of our Lady inspire you to deepen your yes to God, and to embrace His plan of salvation that He has in mind for you. My prayer for you this month is for you to embrace and pray the daily Angelus, praying the words of Our Lady as recorded by Saint Luke. Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your will. May these words become your words to God as you open yourself up more fully to His plan. So many saints have gone before us embracing these words. I pray you will become one of those saints. Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. In the Song of Solomon chapter seven, verses five and six we hear, Your head crowns you like caramel, and your flowing locks are like purple. A king is held captive in the tresses. How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights. In Luke chapter 1, verse 38. And Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. A little later on in ch in Luke chapter 1, verses 47 through 49, Mary says, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed, for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. From Saint Bede the Venerable, from his homily on the Gospel of Saint Luke, Mary demonstrates that in her own judgment she was indeed Christ's humble handmaid, but with respect to heavenly grace, she pronounces herself all at once lifted up and glorified to such a degree that rightly her preeminent blessedness would be marveled at by the voices of all nations. She says, For he has considered the humility of his handmaid, for behold, from this time on all generations will call me blessed. Pope Saint John Paul II, in his Angelus Address, from the eighth of December in the year 2000, he tells us By the witness of her life, Mary encourages us to believe in the fulfillment of God's promises. She calls us back to the spirit of humility, the right interior attitude of the creature towards the Creator. She urges us to put our sure hope in Christ, who fulfills the divine plan, even when events seem obscure and are difficult to accept. By faith, Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that with God nothing will be impossible. Throughout her life and until her last ordeal when Jesus, her son, died on the cross, Mary's faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfillment of God's word. And finally from Saint Jose Maria Escriva, from imitating Mary, our mother. Our mother is a model of correspondence to grace. If we contemplate her life, our Lord will give us the light we need to divinize our everyday existence. First, let us imitate her love. Charity cannot be content with just nice feelings. It must find its way into our conversations and above all into our deeds. The Virgin did not merely pronounce her fiat. In every moment she fulfilled that firm and irrevocable decision, and so should we. Catechesis. Why do we call Mary the handmaid of the Lord? Mary referred to herself as the handmaid of the Lord at the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus. And Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Luke chapter 1, verse 38. What does it mean for Mary to be the handmaid of the Lord? When Mary calls herself the handmaid of the Lord, she is telling Gabriel and the Lord that she is here to serve and honor the Lord. Mary trusts God completely and says yes to his plans for her. Why do we celebrate the Feast of the Ennunciation? We celebrate the Feast of the Ennunciation because it was the moment when Mary's yes undid Adam and Eve's no. By saying yes to God, Mary cooperated with Jesus' saving mission and brought the Son of God into the world. And now some discussion questions you can discuss amongst your family. Number one, what ways can you say yes to God today? Number two, Mary says her soul magnifies the Lord. How can you magnify the Lord with your life? And number three, why do you think Mary said yes to God? Servant of God Akash Bashir Akash was born on june twenty second, nineteen ninety four in the village of Risalpur, Pakistan. He was the second youngest child in a poor family. Akash's family struggled to provide enough for their children amid tense persecution against Christians in the area, so they moved across the country to a town called Lahore. There he received an excellent Catholic education at Salesian schools and graduated from Don Bosco Technical Institute. When he was nineteen years old, Akash received special permission from his priest to volunteer as a security guard at his parish, St. John's Catholic Church. On March 15, 2015, during a Lenten mass, Akash was on duty when a man tried to run into the church carrying a bomb. Akash saw that this man was trying to kill everyone in the church, so he ran up to the bomber and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug and said, If I must die, I will die, but I will never let you get inside this church. Then the bomb exploded. Akash gave his life to save over fifteen hundred people inside the church. Servant of God Akash Bashir is the first Pakistani on the path to sainthood.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

I wonder if he or she is listening right now. If so, thank you for sending us your letter.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

I received a letter from Gabriella, age 13, from the state of Arizona. She writes, When you get this, it will be my birthday. I am turning thirteen. My parents say teens think they know everything, and when they make a mistake, they don't take accountability. I find it very hard to take accountability, especially without getting embarrassed. Do you have any tips for me? Yes, here is my drawing of Saint Veronica, which by the way is very beautiful. Dear Gabriella, happy thirteenth birthday. I'm sure it is much belated now, but nevertheless, we celebrate you turning thirteen. It is one of the milestones to reach your teenage years. It can be a challenging time, but also a very fun time as you grow and learn new responsibilities and gradually become the full adult that God envisioned of you. Your parents are correct as teenagers have a built-in tendency to think they are right in all things. But I think it truly pertains to all of us, even as adults. Sometimes the lessons we learn during our teenage years challenge us when the things we thought were right turn out to not be correct. It takes growth in virtue to be able to recognize when we are wrong and to adjust our attitude quickly, to have it be in line with the topic at hand. We do need to take ownership if we have wronged someone, beg forgiveness, and learn from the experience. This is how we live life. Always learning, always growing, always ask asking God to guide us and to give us the grace to persevere in all things. My advice to you would be to start with prayer. Ask God to guide you in showing you right from wrong and pray He will guide you in those times you are wrong, to have the grace to act quickly, even no matter how embarrassing the situation, to make the wrong right again through true contrition and come out a better person for it on the other side. I assure you, this will get easier over time and with practice. As your picture of Saint Veronica so beautiful beautifully shows us, the holy face of Jesus remains with us to gaze upon. He was wronged in the most horrible way, yet he loves us through it all. Gaze upon his face and let him be your guide. And now a letter from Ariana, age eleven, from the state of Iowa. She writes, How long do you have to stay in purgatory? Dear Ariana, the concept of purgatory is always one that can bring lots of questions, and yours is one I hear a fair amount. The first thing to remember is that purgatory is a temporary place of purification before a soul can enter the gates of heaven. If you make it to purgatory, it will be a comfort to know you aren't going to be there forever. But the purification process may not be very fun. Our goal should always be heaven. That said, the time spent in tur purgatory will depend on how much purification the soul will need. As Revelation chapter twenty-one, verse twenty-seven tells us about heaven, nothing unclean can enter it. Once fully purified, you can enter the kingdom of heaven to gaze upon the beatific vision of God Himself for all eternity. Pray and journey with strength and perseverance. Pray that you are following God's will in all things, and that he will give you the graces needed to resist temptation and to avoid sin, so that you can go straight to heaven and avoid the painful purification process of purgatory. Stay close to our Lady, who will hold you close to the heart of her son.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Have you looked at this month's artwork? Check it out towards the back of your journal and see the beautiful work of children and teens just like you. Would you like yours to be included? Mail your work of art to us using the envelope inside your journal and ask a parent to help you get it to the mailbox. We can't wait to see what you send us. Happy creating.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Thank you for listening to this episode of Stories from the Guild. We look forward to receiving your letters, poems, comics, prayers, questions, art, and anything else creative. We are excited to bring you more content through our podcast and full of grace journals. Make sure to follow Stories from the Guild on your favorite listening platform. It's easy and free. Just click the little button. From all of us at the Guild, until next time, may God bless you and keep you. And may Our Lady of Guadalupe hold you in the hollow of her mantle.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Want to learn more about the Youth Guild of St. Jose Sanchez Del Rio? Visit youthguild.org to learn more. Enrollment in the Youth Guild is completely free, and it comes with meaningful spiritual and tangible benefits designed to inspire young hearts for Christ. Your child, grandchild, student, or godchild between the ages of 2 to 17 will benefit from the abundant graces of monthly mass and the intercession of a courageous youth saint with a blessed medal to remind them of his patronage. As our patron saint said it best, viva Christopher! Long live Christ the King. Keep living the faith and sharing the joy, friends. May the peace of Christ be with you.