Annunciation of the Lord (solemnity)
Proper

Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” March-April 2021

On this day, the liturgy reminds us of the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. The Gospel tells us of the episode of the archangel Gabriel, sent by the Most High to announce to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus. In this humble and hidden event, Mary welcomes in faith and in the flesh the eternal Word made man for our salvation. Indeed, the incarnation of the Son of God is the central mystery of the Christian faith, and Mary holds a prominent place in it. What is the meaning of this mystery? What importance does it have for our concrete lives?

FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 7:10-14; 8:10c)
In those days, the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God, from the depths of the underworld or from the heights above.” But Ahaz answered: “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said: “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you must also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, because God is with us.” – The word of God

Commentary on the first reading

“Behold, Lord, I come to do your will.” As often happens, especially on Sundays, solemnities, and feasts, one of the main themes guiding today’s liturgy is offered to us by the refrain of the Psalm. Today it speaks to us of a total and unconditional willingness to let God’s plans be fulfilled in us. This is above all Jesus’ attitude within the Trinity: he is completely free and willing to do the Father’s will, even when this means sharing the fragile human condition (except for sin). But this is also the dynamic present in Mary most holy, born of a total adherence to God’s will that involves her whole person, as we will see especially in today’s Gospel in the episode of the Annunciation. And then throughout Mary’s entire life with her son, all the way to the cross and the fulfillment of the resurrection. The first reading, despite its concise account, has a very important beating heart: the difference between being enslaved to their own schemes on the part of human beings and God’s free initiative; not human stubbornness, but Love.

SECOND READING

From the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 10:4-10)
Brothers and sisters, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For this reason, on entering the world, Christ says: “Sacrifice and offering you desired not, but a body you prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come – for it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’” After saying, “You neither desired nor took pleasure in sacrifices or offerings, burnt offerings or sin offerings,” things that are offered according to the Law, he then says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” Thus he abolishes the first sacrifice in order to establish the new one. By that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. – The word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

“Behold, I come to do your will.” The Son, Jesus Christ, says this in the eternal bosom of the Father and of the Trinity. Through the grace of Christ – the One who will be born of her – and in anticipation of the salvation given to us by the same Son of God, Mary most holy exclaims it at the Annunciation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word.” Freely and willingly doing God’s will (even when it proves heartbreaking or can overturn our plans): from this come the forgiveness of sins, the strength and tenderness of Christian life, and eternal life with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, it was believed that “the blood of bulls and goats” could wash away even the most repulsive sins. Indeed, among pagan peoples, people were sacrificed (in a thousand ways), simply to believe, in the most erroneous manner, that they could thereby win the favor of the deity. How many boys and girls, women, and marginalized people had to submit to the rage of those who, in an extreme attempt, believed they could render a false deity harmless; how much suffering was caused in the name of an absolutely false image of God.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:26-38)
At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man of the house of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. Coming to her, he said: “Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. And 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; the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” Then Mary said to the angel: “How can this be, since I do not know man?” The angel answered 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 and will be called 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: nothing is impossible for God.” Then Mary said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

“Mary said: ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word.’” Some Christians throughout the ages have racked their brains, or simply wondered – perhaps in too human a way – what Mary’s wishes and plans might have been before the angel’s Annunciation. Let them do so, but let us not worry too much about this question. Indeed, Sacred Scripture itself and our faith tell us much more than our fragile imaginations. Mary is immaculate, therefore, using an image, she is clay completely available to the potter’s hands; not because of her own skill or some extraordinary merit, but “in anticipation of the merits of Jesus Christ.” Mary can say such a total and profound “yes” because she is completely turned toward the Son: her entire existence is oriented toward him. At the beginning of the Litany of Loreto we find “Mary, virgin and mother”: this is the fruit of a “yes” spoken without setting limits. As we celebrate the Annunciation of the Lord, we contemplate Mary once again: Holy Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church, Mother of divine grace, most pure Mother, most chaste, ever-virgin, immaculate, worthy of love.