Today marks nine months before Christmas, and is a SOLEMNITY in the midst of Lent. The Church’s liturgy in the Roman rite uses white instead of purple, the “Gloria” is sung, everything! (except the “A**lu*” that waits for Easter). Tomorrow, with the raising of Lazarus, we begin the journey with Jesus toward his public entry into Jerusalem and the great events of His suffering and death and resurrection. Today, we rejoice in Jesus in His wondrous human origin: in the unimaginable outpouring of God’s gratuitous love, in the silence of Mary’s Immaculate Heart, in her unlimited assent through which God gave us the fullness of the gift of Himself.
The Word became flesh in the womb of a woman who said "Yes." So CELEBRATE on this beautiful day.
(“Annunciation Scene” from the materials of the Montessori-inspired Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.)
