In this second word we have a quite different attitude.  Here is revealed to us the profound and perfect humility of the Blessed Virgin.  This answer comes from the experience of her whole life.  It is of such utterances that we say that they are revealing.  What we at any time say, does in fact reveal what we are—­what we have come to be through the experience of our past life.  And no doubt it is these instinctive utterances which are called out by some unexpected occurrence that reveal more of us than our weighed and guarded words.  Back of every word we utter is a life we have lived.  We have been spending years in preparing for that word.  Perhaps when the time comes to speak it, it is not the word we thought we were going to speak, it was not the prelude to the action we thought that we were going to perform; it reveals a character other than the character that we thought we had.  How often the Gospel brings that before us!  We see the young Ruler come running with his brave and perfectly sincere words about inheriting eternal life; and then we see him going away when the testing of our Lord demonstrated that he only partly meant what he said.  It was not S. Peter’s brave words, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee,” that revealed the truth about the Apostle; but the words that were called out by the accusation that he was of the company of Jesus:  “Then began he to curse and swear, saying, I know not the man.”  We have no doubt that he knows himself better when he catches the eye of the Master turned upon him and goes and weeps bitterly.  And it is true, is it not, that it is through words called out and thoughts stirred by the unexpected that we often get new insight into our real state.  A sudden temptation reveals a hidden weakness, and we go away shamed and crushed, saying, “I did not suppose that I was capable of that.”

But, thank God, the revelation is sometimes the other way; the testing uncovers unexpected strength.  Of many a man, after some strong trial, we say, “I did not know that he had so much courage, or so much patience.”  The quiet unassuming exterior was the mask of an heroic will of which very likely not even the possessor suspected the true quality.  The annals of martyrdom are full of these revelations of unsuspected strength.  Here in the case of Blessed Mary the quality revealed is that of humility so perfect that it dreams not of revolt from the most searching trial.  It reveals the character of our Mother better than pages of description can do.  What we see in response to the bewildering messages brought by S. Gabriel is the instinctive movement of the soul toward God.  There is utter absence of any thought of self or of how she may be affected by the purpose of God; it is enough that that purpose is made plain.