Mary was more than a merely passive instrument of God. The Incarnation of God took place through her active consent as well. [493-494, 508-511]
When the angel told her that she would bear “the Son of God”, Mary replied, “Let is be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). The redemption of mankind by Jesus Christ thus begins with a request by God and the free consent of human being-and a pregnancy before Mary was married to Joseph. By such an unusual path Mary became for us the “Gate of Salvation”.
