Solemnity of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary
In today’s Gospel, the angel promised two things to Mary. Gabriel said, firstly: “You will be with child”— that is, you will conceive and become pregnant. And secondly, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
God was involved in the conception of this child, just as God is involved in the origin of every human being. When God created Adam, the Bible says that God’s breath made him a living human being. Catholic tradition often refers to this breath of God as the moment when God breathes a soul into the new human being.
Psalm 139 says: “God, truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb”
God knit us in our mothers’ wombs! If every baby had a label on the back of its neck, as t-shirts or blouses have, that label would say, “Hand made by my parents and by my God.”
That is why every child is so valuable. The love of our parents and the love of our God gave us our life and gave us our value.
Our value does not depend upon how well we walk or talk or think. Our value does not depend upon how we look or feel. We are valuable because God loved us and made us and breathed his divine life into us.
So, as we remember God’s role in the Annunciation to Mary, as we see how every life from the moment of conception is a life created by God, how can we not love and respect every human life?
Reflection: How do you show your respect for the life of every human being?
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources