The ANNUNCIATION of the LORD - (weekday Solemnity)
Readings
FIRST READING: Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10;
PSALM 39:7-11. "Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will."
SECOND READING: Hebrews 10:4-10.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 1:14). Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! The word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
GOSPEL: Luke 1:26-38
Shutterstock Licensed Image stock photo ID: 341782814 ATHENS, GREECE - OCTOBER 8, 2015: The fresco of Annunciation on the facade of Metropolitan Cathedaral by B. Antoniasis (1895). By Renata Sedmakova
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the ANNUNCIATION of the LORD - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-solemnity-of-the-annunciation-of-the-lord-abc/s-IjK5m9lYhR8
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Today's feast of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated, in a timely fashion (usually) exactly nine months to the day of Christmas. and three months before the feast of the birth of JOHN the Baptist. However, with Holy week overriding the traditional date of 25th March this year, it has been moved to the first available date after the Easter Octave.
It is a feast of the Lord, commemorating the announcement to the Virgin Mary of the Word made flesh, Mary's acceptance of God's will, and the conception of Christ nine months before Christmas. This feast originated in the East during the sixth century and gained universal observance in the West during the eighth century. Its occurrence close to Easter links the incarnation with the whole mystery of human redemption in Christ.
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Homily:
Mary was of the house of David and was engaged to be married to Joseph, of the same royal family. She had, however, not yet entered the household of her spouse, but was still in her mother's house, perhaps working, over her dowry. (Bardenhewer, Maria Verk., 69).
And the angel having taken the figure and the form of a man came into the house and said to her: "Greetings, full of grace … the Lord is with you."
Mary having heard the greeting words did not speak; she was troubled in spirit since she knew not the angel, nor the cause of his coming, nor the meaning of the greeting. And the angel continued and said: "Fear not, Mary, for have found favour with God. Behold you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most-High, and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom, there shall be no end."
The Virgin understood that there was a question of the coming Redeemer. But, why should she be elected from amongst women for the splendid dignity of being the mother of the Messiah, having vowed her virginity to God? (St. Augustine). Therefore, not doubting the word of God like Zachary, but filled with fear and astonishment, she said: "How shall this be done, because I know not a man?" – this was not merely a present tense... This was akin to "I have made a perpetual vow of virginity to God, even as I plan to be married, so how can this be?" (Her question and confusion make no sense unless this is the clarification she seeks).
The angel, to remove Mary's anxiety and to reassure her resolve, answered: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most-High shall overshadow you. And therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God."
Mary, very likely, would not have yet fully understood the full meaning of the heavenly message and how the maternity might be reconciled with her vow of virginity, but clinging to the first words of the angel and trusting to the all-powerful faithfulness of God she said: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word."
Many holy fathers (Sts. Jerome, Cyril, Ephrem, Augustine) say that the consent of Mary was essential to the redemption. It was the will of God, St. Thomas says (Summa III:30), that the redemption of mankind should depend upon the consent of the Virgin Mary. This does not mean that God in His plans was bound by the will of a creature, and that man would not have been redeemed if Mary had not consented. It only means that the consent of Mary was foreseen from all eternity, and therefore was received as essential into the design of God.
https://sarahclarkson.com/thoroughly-alive/2017/11/17/annunciation-a-poem-and-a-holy-provocation
Annunciation by Denise Levertov
We know the scene:
……Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings, the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering, whom she acknowledges, a guest.
But we are told of meek obedience.
No one mentions courage.
The engendering Spirit did not enter her without consent.
God waited.
She was free to accept or to refuse, choice integral to humanness.
Aren't there annunciations of one sort or another in most lives?
Some unwillingly undertake great destinies, enact them in sullen pride, uncomprehending.
More often those moments when roads of light and storm open from darkness in a man or woman, are turned away from in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
God does not smite them. But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.
She had been a child who played, ate, slept like any other child–but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed in joy, not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence fused in her, indivisible.
Called to a destiny more momentous than any in all of Time, she did not quail,
only asked a simple, 'How can this be?' and gravely, courteously, took to heart the angel's reply, the astounding ministry she was offered:
To bear in her womb Infinite weight and lightness; to carry in hidden, finite inwardness, nine months of Eternity; to contain in slender vase of being, the sum of power–in narrow flesh, the sum of light. Then bring to the birth, ……. a child needing, like any other, milk and love– but who was God!
This was the moment no one speaks of when she could still refuse.
A breath un-breathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting ....
She did object: 'I cannot. I am not worthy,'
Nor did she cry out: 'I have not the strength.'
She did not submit with gritted teeth, raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans, consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
https://sarahclarkson.com/thoroughly-alive/2017/11/17/annunciation-a-poem-and-a-holy-provocation
Holweck, Frederick. "The Annunciation." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 7 Feb. 2020 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01541c.htm
Shutterstock Licensed Image stock photo ID: 341782814 ATHENS, GREECE - OCTOBER 8, 2015: The fresco of Annunciation on the facade of Metropolitan Cathedaral by B. Antoniasis (1895). By Renata Sedmakova
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The ANNUNCIATION of the LORD
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of Peace. Lord have mercy// You are Son of God and the Son of Mary. Christ have mercy// You are Word made flesh, the splendour of the Father. Lord have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Preface of Annunciation //
EUCH II //.
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Go, and Announce the gospel of the Lord.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).
Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The ….Gloria, copyright 2011 ccwatershed.org}
Hymn – "Rainfall – Hail Holy Queen." Music by Paul W. Kelly. 1994, 2021. Words by Paul kelly, based on the Traditional Salve Regina Hymn. Arranged & with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2021. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk
Marian Hymn - "Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae." (Traditional 11th Century). Melody: Mainz (1712), Hymn #783 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/
Marian Hymn – "Whom Earth and Sea and Sky Proclaim." Traditional 6th Century Hymn. Melody: Bartholomaus Gesius (d.1613). #376 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/
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May God bless and keep you.
