March 25
The Annunciation
oday's feast,
recalling the extraordinary way in which the Virgin conceived, celebrates
the beginning of our reconciliation and proclaims the unerring disposition
of God's mercy and power. There is a profound and wonderful mystery hidden
in this conception by which the bond of our transgression is canceled,
the divine is joined to the human, and two, that is Christ and the Church,
become one body. The Virgin's womb was the bridal chamber for this union,
and at the end of the normal period for carrying a child, Christ together
with his spouse, our flesh, like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, placed
his dwelling, the body he had assumed, in the sun; for he made his body
through which he was to vanquish the foe visible to all.
Let us ponder all this with care and with deep longing savor the graciousness
of God, considering how wonderful are the rewards promised us in heaven.
Let us model ourselves on the one who gave his life on earth as a pattern
of Christian living.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from
Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
HTML text prepared by David P. Steelman
