Annunciation of the Lord
Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Spirit at Work In Me
Mary’s role in the history of salvation is celebrated in today’s Gospel – the good news – on this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. It is such an unlikely event in which God announces through an angel his intent to come into the world; one like us so that we might come to know the divine more fully. Not in a burning bush, storm clouds and lightning, nor a pillar of fire, but within Mary’s womb God enters the world. Mary who will give birth accepts that the Spirit is at work within her. Do I accept that the Spirit is at work in me today?
—Fr. Chris Manahan, S.J., is Midwest Province provincial assistant for senior Jesuits and pre-tertians and former director of Jesuit Retreat House on Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Prayer
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
—Traditional prayer