Hear things about the Annunciation that you have never heard before and why it was the most important day in human history. Hear Fr. Chris Alar explain what we need to know about this solemnity. Includes answering such questions as is Christmas a pagan holiday? Is the Hail Mary Biblical? Do we worship Mary? and the difference between Mary and Zechariah. Streamed live on Mar 25, 2023
Minute Meditation – The Sound of God’s Own Voice
It was not just the message that drew Mary to remember again and again the annunciation of Gabriel. It was his song and movement which were from the unseen heavens where God dwelt with God’s Son who, when he entered her womb, sang his own song and brought his own movement that she could feel as she carried Jesus daily as he grew into the baby born in Bethlehem, looking like all other babies, no glory surrounding him as God’s glory surrounded and shone from the Archangel Gabriel.
All the amplitude of Gabriel’s astounding voice and movement was now but a newborn human baby lying in a little crib of ordinary straw. Somewhere inside that little bundle of baby was the magnitude and amplitude of God’s own.
— from the book Nourishing Love: A Franciscan Celebration of Mary
by Murray Bodo, OFM
Saint of the Day – December 10 – Our Lady of Loreto
Our Lady of Loreto is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with the house where Mary was born, the site of the Annunciation, and the dwelling place of the Holy Family. The tradition and history of the Holy House goes back to Apostolic times. In the 13th century the house was mysteriously moved in one piece from Nazareth in the Holy Land to a final resting place in Loreto, Italy, carried by angels, a miracle to which the Church attests. It was transported to prevent its destruction by Muslims who destroyed the basilica which housed it. A new basilica was built around the Holy House in Italy, known as the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world. Written at the door of the basilica are these words: “The whole world has no place more sacred … For here was the Word made Flesh, and here was born the Virgin Mother.” Our Lady of Loreto is the patron of aviators, fliers, pilots, and builders. Her feast day is December 10th.
//Catholic Company//
Feast Day – March 25th – Solemnity of the Annunciation
The Solemnity of the Annunciation, celebrated on March 25th, honors the profound meeting between the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, as recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel. On this day St. Gabriel announced to Mary Immaculate that she would miraculously conceive a Child by the Holy Spirit, the long-awaited Messiah who would save mankind from their sins. This is the moment of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s great fiat of perfect submission to the Divine will. This day on which the Church celebrates the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in the womb of His Blessed Mother is exactly nine months before the Feast of the Nativity on December 25th.
//The Catholic Company//
Rediscover the Rosary – Joyful Mysteries: The Annunciation
Are we willing to say yes to God? All too often I find myself saying yes to God begrudgingly. It isn’t a generous yes. I know that, and I know God knows it. Mary puts me to shame. Her humble words of surrender, “Let it be done unto me according to your word,” echo throughout history. We should be a people of yes, generously saying yes to everything God calls us to. Let’s begin again right now—a new beginning, a fresh commitment to say yes to God. And may these words never be
far from our lips: “God, what do you think I should do in this situation?”
Today: Decide when and where you will set aside time to pray the Rosary during the remainder of this program.