J.M.J.
With good reason, the Solemnity of the Annunciation
has been saluted as the “Feast of our Redemption.” The Second Person of the
Most Blessed Trinity took flesh in the chaste womb of the Virgin of Nazareth
when she consented to the Lord’s astounding proposal as announced through the
Archangel Gabriel. Our golden chance to be redeemed by Christ began when Mary
uttered her famous Fiat—“Let it be
done as you say.”
Life looks much different to us after the
Annunciation. Each person of the human race, which had grievously offended its
Creator due to Original Sin, now would enjoy the holy opportunity to be
reconciled to God.
The Annunciation offers many rich truths upon which to
reflect. Here are only a few.
The Son of God obeyed His Beloved Father without
delay. The Son fulfilled the wise plan of His Father, becoming incarnate in
Mary’s womb. Such a striking example of humility and obedience cannot help but
to inspire us to respond affirmatively to the Lord in all the He asks of us.
Our Blessed Lady was completely receptive to the Lord.
Mary needed no prodding to submit to her Lord. She had already yielded to God
countless times before. She loved Him and at every moment placed His desires,
no matter how mysterious, over her own.
The Archangel Gabriel holds an important place in our
redemption. Angels are “created spirits.” God, the Uncreated Spirit, made them
as His special servants. Over the course of time, many have been messengers to
the human sons and daughters of God. Gabriel was chosen for this unique task of
sharing with Mary that Jesus would be conceived in her by the power of the Holy
Spirit and subsequently born of her. Angels have heralded the Good News for
centuries.
The gift of preborn human life is sacred and deserves
protection. It is no secret that the legal slaughter of preborn boys and girls
has reached endemic proportions. God is not pleased with this savagery. Each of
us will have to answer to Him as to how we sought to protect our preborn
brothers and sisters. Babies still in their mothers’ wombs require our
vigilance and strenuous efforts to secure legal protection for them.
A prayer that the Church has esteemed for decades that
commemorates the Annunciation is the Angelus.
It is prayed three times daily—6:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m. If we do not
know this prayer, now is the time to begin to recite and learn it. Many will find
that if they pray the Angelus three
times daily for a month, at the end of the thirty days they will have memorized
this cherished prayer, which is really a meditation in itself.
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace, .
. . .
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, .
. . .
V. And the Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, .
. . .
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy
grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was
made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought
to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
When the Archangel Gabriel “declared” unto Mary, he
was declaring unto each of us: “Jesus is coming . . . let your souls be open to
receive Him.” May our reply echo that of the Ever-Virgin: Fiat.
God the Son, made man for us, have mercy on us!
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, Foster-father of the Christ and Husband
of the Ever-Virgin, pray for us!
Saint Gabriel the Archangel, God’s envoy to Mary who
proclaimed the Incarnation, pray for us!
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