Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary.
Memorial of blessed Omeljan Kovc, a Ukrainian Greek-catholic priest killed in the concentration camp of Majdanek in 1944 for he defended the Jews from persecution.

Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

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 betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must 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 his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.' Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.' Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.' And the angel left her.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Through a special memorial, The Church's liturgy wants to remind us of the day on which the angel was sent to Nazareth to announce to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus. There is a link between this feast and the mystery of Easter we are about to celebrate. In the angel's annunciation there is already the Father's love who loves men and women so much to send his Son to We of that girl from Nazareth. could say that there is like a love story that has a new beginning with the annunciation. Not only did God not forget people, but He also sends his own Son through the "yes" of that girl from Nazareth. Mary is a girl like any other. And yet the Lord's gaze had come to rest on her. She is the first who offered her life for the Father's dream of love. In this feast, while we contemplate the greatness of the Lord's love, we admire also the "yes" of the small girl from Galilee. Mary welcomed the Father's invitation, and after that, she never distanced herself from that love: she welcomed the call to be the servant of a greater vision fully. It was not easy, not obvious. When the angel told her that she was full of grace, Mary was perplexed She did not have a great consideration of herself. She felt nothing before God. But the angel comforted her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus." We are not able to know Mary's thoughts at that moment. She could have said "no," and remain in her quietness and continue her usual life, but she answered "yes." Her entire life was transformed and with hers the life and history of humanity.