Lent is a sober season within the Christian calendar. As we progress through Lent, we inch closer to celebrating Easter. However, celebrations don’t have to wait until Easter, as there are feasts and occasions we can honor in the meantime.
One such occasion is the Feast of the Annunciation, which we typically celebrate every year on March 25th to remember Gabriel’s visit to Jesus’ mother, Mary. The only exception is if Holy Week falls on this date. If so, the Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on the second Sunday after Easter.
No matter our current timing, this event is found in Luke 1:26-38. The Angel Gabriel possibly asked, “Mary, did you know?” In possible reflection, she would know, as Gabriel foretold to Mary, that though she is a virgin, miraculously, through the Holy Spirit, she would conceive a baby boy. Of course, her baby boy would be Jesus, who would save the world from their sins.
Specifically, Luke 1:30-31 states,
“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”
Today, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans celebrate Gabriel’s visitation and the Virgin Mary. For Anglicans, the order of service remains routine, except there is a special collect and proper preface of the day. They are as follows:
The Proper Preface for today is appropriate: “Because in the mystery of the Word made flesh, you have caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give the knowledge of your glory in the face of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Finally, Pope John Paul II instituted a modern observation of the Feast of the Annunciation. He announced March 25th as International Day of the Unborn Child, tying this commemoration to the feast that remembers the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mother Mary.
Collect (Prayer) of the Day
Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his Cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(taken from the ACNA Book of Common Prayer, 2019.)
Photo Credit Unsplash.com
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