The Annunciation of the Lord (Solemnity) ~ 25 March 2014

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the most important in the Church calendar and is not a Holy Day of Obligation but we can certainly take on the "obligation" ourselves to attend Mass. It celebrates the actual Incarnation of Our Saviour the Word made flesh in the womb of His mother, the Virgin Mary. The Annunciation has always been celebrated on 25 March, exactly nine months before Christmas Day. In the gospel of Luke 1:26-38, we see Archangel Gabriel's appearance to the Virgin Mary, his announcement that the Blessed Virgin had been chosen to be the Mother of God, and Mary's willing acceptance of God's holy plan. The Annunciation marks the beginning of God's plan for our salvation and redemption, and Mary's fiat was essential to God's plan as God foresaw Mary's acceptance of His will.

Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, 

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 

born of the Virgin Mary

~ from the Apostles Creed ~

For us and for our salvation 

he came down from heaven, 

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary 

and became truly human. 

~ from the Nicene Creed ~

We are now in the midst of Lent, let ask ourselves, how is God calling me to carry out His will? And how close are our response like of the blessed Virgin Mary's, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

O God, who willed that your Word should take on the reality of human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man, may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Tuesday, 25 March, 2014
The Annunciation of the Lord (Solemnity)

Reading 1 ~ Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”

Psalm ~ Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11

R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. (8a and 9a)
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Reading 2 ~ Hebrews 10:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel ~ Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“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 called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

Prayer

O God, 

who didst will that Thy Word take flesh 

in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary 

at the message of the angel. 

Grant us, we pray, 

to be aided before Thee by her intercession, 

whom we believe to be truly the Mother of God. 

Amen.