The Feast of the Annunciation


Let us celebrate the sacred conversation between our Blessed Mary and the Angel Gabriel. The exchange is wondrous and speaks of God's love. Life. Not only in Galilee but a divine life for each one of us.

“The Lord is with you.”
“Don’t be afraid?”
“How can it be?”
“Let it be according to your word.”

The word is now real:

“And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.”

The Holy Spirit surrounded her, and our Lord entered the world for the first time. Jesus is in the womb of Mary. Nothing, nothing, will ever be the same. This should take our breath away.

Nothing is impossible with God. We are forever changed.

(This drawing relates to Dante Rossetti’s oil painting Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation) in Tate’s collection, illustrating the biblical scene in which the Angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary. Rossetti shows the young woman facing the viewer, revealing her wonder and alarm at the angel’s visitation. The figure of Mary was modelled by poet Christina Rossetti, the artist’s sister.)