Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. The angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is to be the mother of the Savior. On this day, nine months before Christmas, we celebrate the reality that Isaiah proclaimed: “the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!” (Is 7:14; 8:10). This is truly a feast of the Incarnation for on this day we acknowledge the presence of Christ in our broken world—that he has become flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). God is truly with us.
Does it seem strange that we celebrate this feast so closely related to Christmas in the middle of the Lenten season? The second reading from the letter to the Hebrews helps us understand that it is quite fitting for us to meditate upon Christ’s entry into the world even as we prepare to celebrate his Death and Resurrection. “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me…’” (Heb 10:4-5). Christ emptied him, taking on human form, obedient to His Father’s will, to replace the sacrifices of the old covenant. He became the unblemished Passover Lamb, the new sacrifice to be offered upon the altar of the Cross for the sins of the world. “[E]very priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins…he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb 10:11,14).
Today, we celebrate a double “fiat.” Mary humbly accepts her role as the mother of God: “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), and Jesus obediently accepts his mission in the Father’s plan of salvation: “Behold, I come to do your will” (Heb 10:9). The “Yes” of Mary and the “Yes” of Jesus prompt us to approach the Father each day in prayer and to turn over our lives in humble submission to His will. We must implore the aid of Mary to overcome our fear and cry out in complete confidence “May your will be done in me” and take courage in the angel’s message that “…nothing will be impossible for God” (Lk 1:37).
Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections