Feast of the Annunciation

Happy Feast of the Annunciation to Everyone! The Feast of the Annunciation is usually celebrated on March 25 but since the 25th fell on a Sunday this year the Church moved the feast to the 26th. Sunday is the Lord's day so no other feast day honoring anyone but the Lord can take precedent. The feast marks the beginning of salvation for this is the day when Jesus was conceived in his mother's womb. On this day a young Jewish virgin girl changed the world when she said "Yes" to God's Will and accepted to become the Mother of God. Mary did not understand how this would come about since she had no relations with a man. Yet, she fully trusted in God and accepted His will. She knew it meant she would have to suffer and she accepted the joy of having a child along with the cross and the pain of bearing that child. There was much suffering she would endure from accepting God's Will but she had faith in God's love for her too. She believed God would take care of her and she didn't let her fear of uncertainty prohibit her from doing His Will. In the Jewish religion of Mary's and Joseph's time, the Jews had rituals for a man and a woman during their engagement period. It must have been very difficult for Mary as a young Jewish to become pregnant when she had had no relations with a man. The shame that she must have felt from Jewish society gossip must have been painful. The laws were much more strict and a person's reputation was everything. Mary sacrificed much! From the moment she said "Yes" to God, she knew that Her Son was destined to die on the Cross for the salvation of  mankind. She knew that, and she still accepted God's Will for her in her life. What a beautiful model of love and trust Mary is! She suffered at the foot of the Cross as she watched her Beloved Son die a horrific agonizing death. Mary, pure and lowly, guide the hearts of all women to be who they were destined to be. You, Mary are the highest honor of our race and the model for womanhood. Through your actions you showed us how to be a good wife to St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, and a good mother to Jesus in the little things of everyday life. You are the Immaculate Conception and as God's chosen one, you completely trusted in God and became the Theotokas - the house of the Son of God. For this we honor you! Spotless Virgin Mary, save us from the snares of the devil, protect us, and guide our country to your Son Jesus.

Ave Maria University takes this feast day off because the school has chosen Our Lady as our patroness and it is a solemnity. The school always has a special Mass on this day and the bishop presided at that Mass which was followed by a Eucharistic procession. We made the effort to be there for these spiritual festive occasions. The Mass was held in the Oratory of Ave Maria at 5pm and the bishop celebrated a Novus Ordo Mass with the important prayers of the liturgy in Latin. The choir did a beautiful job of singing Gregorian chant; however, the acoustics of the Oratory makes it very difficult to make out what the choir is singing! I don't know what it is, but I find it hard to hear the distinction between the voices of each member of the choir and the words of the songs they sing! Oh well! The aesthetic beauty of the Oratory leaves something to be desired too. It looks like the money ran out and the architects left the job unfinished. Anyway....  The Eucharistic procession was lovely!!! We processed around the Oratory stopping at three stations along the way to kneel in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It reminded me of the Eucharistic processions that our old parish in St. Johnsbury would have on the feast of Corpus Christi. St. Johnsbury had a population of 5000 people and we would have a Eucharistic procession right down Main Street where we would kneel in the middle of  the street to adore the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Think of how awesome that is! Ave Maria is similar but is even less inhabited as a town than St. Johnsbury is. After Mass and the procession we stood in the open spaces across from the church and chatted for awhile with the Honorary Matthew Vicinanzo, Alex, my godsons Teddy and Danny, Michelle and Carol. What wonderful young people they are!