+ Today we celebrate the great solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. We, suspend the observance of Lent for this one day to remember an event that far surpasses even Christmas. Today is the day we recall that the Blessed Virgin Mary consented with love to be the mother of God's only-begotten Son – we recall the very instant that the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and the holy one of God began to exist in her womb on this earth – fully God and fully man, in an instant. This feast lays aside any doubts whatsoever that human life begins at the moment of conception. This feast demands that all life from the moment of conception is to be held sacred and honored and respected – as we would honor and respect the Christ child himself.
The full import of what occurred here is completely astounding.
God is breaking into human history to become a resident member of his own creation. And the reason he did so is because human beings: the highest form of creation, the most intelligent, the most sophisticated, used their intelligence in the wrong way and alienated themselves from God in a way that could never be repaired without divine help. And so, the fact that the God of gods chose to become part of the human scene in order to fix us is nothing short of astounding! He did not have to do this! God's goodness and love and light and mercy and reconciliation and forgiveness know no limits.
But, equally astounding is the reaction of human beings to this intervening of God in their history: they contrived and plotted to kill him! Yes, the children of Abraham proved themselves to be much less than such children when they set out to destroy the goodness and the love and the light and the mercy and the reconciliation and the forgiveness – because those who live in the darkness prefer the darkness to the light that would expose their evil deeds.
And so, the Good One submitted to a shameful death on the Cross for us and for our salvation – even though, we as a whole were not interested in such rescuing. But then came the reconciliation, and the forgiveness and the mercy and the peace; then came the next astounding part of this story: the resurrection. God raised his Son from the dead and offered us hope and a share in his life – undeserving as we were. Later when Jesus returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to be with us to ensure believers in him and his magnificent love that he would be with them always until the end of time – he would guide their actions and be their strength – he would always be their reconciliation and their peace.
And before he would come again as judge of the living and the dead as he promised, he would make himself known as King of Mercy. It would be the last chance for a disoriented, faithless, thoroughly unraveling world to turn to Jesus in order to be saved by him. Many believe that we are in such a period right now. That is why it is so important that we renew daily our devotion to Jesus who broke into our history to save us, to redeem us, to empower us to live forever in heaven with him and all the elect. We need to choose Jesus constantly!
And so, that is why today is a feast of a Mystery of the Rosary, and a feast of the Angelus Prayer. These are daily reminders that THE WORD OF GOD BECAME FLESH AND DWELLS AMONG US – FOR US AND FOR OUR SALVATION. This is an astounding reality and ought to commit us to doing exactly what he tells us to do, as Mary always did, as she played out her role in the redemption of the world. May we do our part willingly and lovingly this day!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
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