SOLEMNITY OF THE ANUNCIATION OF THE LORD : Monday 8th April 2024

On today’s Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, we are presented with two different responses to the message of God. The respondents were a king and a maiden. First, the Lord speaking through Isaiah, pierces through King Ahaz’s pious claim to not wish to put the Lord to the test. Such a response reveals his underlying lack of belief and arrogance. Even then God through the prophet shares a vision of the maiden with child who will be a sign of God and named Emmanuel (God-is-with-us).

By contrast, we see that Mary, while she was deeply disturbed and asked the angel Gabriel how, what he had foretold could be, ultimately showed her deep faith in God by accepting his message. In the beautiful words of her fiat, she first affirmed her identity as the handmaid of the Lord. She then proclaimed that what the Lord proclaimed be done to her. Mary’s sublime humility, obedience and trust were premised on her foundational identity as a servant to the Word of God.

In this, we are invited to consider how we can more closely imitate Mary in her profession of faith. We are called to reflect that we, too, are handmaids of the Lord and to let God’s word be done to us, for nothing is impossible to God.

Dear Lord, instill in us today, like Mary, the humility that we are all recipients to Your living word.