"Feast of the Annunciation"

Today's Mass Readings

At first, it seems a little odd to celebrate the annunciation during this season of Lent. Yet, while we are immersed in this time of repentance, we are also nine months away from Christmas. So at a time when we fast in order to remember the loss of Jesus, he is at the same time never gone from us but rather intimately present. Mary receives this annunciation of Jesus’ incarnation, but so also do we. Jesus – God with us – will be born again at Christmas. And so we celebrate the never-ending cycle of his birth, life, death and resurrection. While this solemnity looks forward to the great joy of Christmas, it nonetheless bears Lenten themes as well. In the second reading we are reminded that it is Jesus who has taken away our sins once and for all. Anything that we do – including our Lenten resolutions – is done simply to share in Jesus’ sacrifice. The psalm response, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will,” is applicable to us during this time of Lent as always, since we always seek to do God’s will in our lives.

The gospel passage of the annunciation contains one of the most profound acts of faith of all times as Mary says, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.” We must all seek to be the servants of the Lord, letting his will work in us and cooperating with the grace that he so abundantly bestows on us in the Holy Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ. As we rapidly approach Easter, let us join our voices with the psalmist, with Paul and with Mary. Let us pray that, in humility, we may do God’s will in each of our everyday thoughts and actions.