Feast of the Annunciation to Mary

Available for 23 days

Good morning, Sometimes we’re caught completely unaware – with no warning, knowledge or time to reflect. And we have to make a big decision. Or, we receive information we cannot prepare for and a quick response is required - news about our health, a critical job change or a complex situation among family and friends. What happens next can define the months or years to come. And staying with the “what ifs…” can fragment our minds and hearts rather than reconcile us to whatever we are called to face. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation in the Christian calendar. This is the event in Luke’s gospel, chapter 1 when the Archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she will conceive through the Holy Spirit and give birth to a boy named Jesus, who is the Son of God. Mary could have said “no, I don’t think so – it’s not a good time”. Yet despite fear and questions, she still says “yes” to God. This was not a role she’d considered - it didn’t make any sense. And she would no longer be free to follow the life she planned with Joseph her fiancé. But she trusted that God would guide her. In the context in which Mary lived, not yet married and poor, this demanded enormous faith and courage. And her “yes” changed the course of Christian history. I pray that Mary’s encounter with an Archangel will encourage in us an openness to the new. May we embrace the unexpected with a ready spirit, and find a quiet peace that gives meaning to our every day amid the joys and trials which we face. Amen.