The Solemnity of the Annunciation of Mary, Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Luke 1, 26–38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The first indications of this Feast are found in homilies in the mid 400’s.  It probably arose after the Council of Ephesus in 431 at which the Blessed Virgin Mary was defined as The God-Bearer.  This declaration opposed a heresy of the day which held that Jesus Christ was two distinct persons — one divine and one human.  Consequently, the Virgin Mary was the mother only of the human person of Christ.  However, the Council pointed out that this attempt to explain “The Word was made flesh” fails since it means that only the human person died on the Cross, which does not redeem mankind.  The Council reaffirmed the true teaching, that Jesus is a divine Person with two natures — one divine and one human.  The whole Person of Christ died on the Cross, and it was this that effected the Redemption of the human race.

A way to appreciate the holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to consider her affection on others.  In Matthew 1, 19-25, St. Joseph is thinking hard about what to do regarding his marriage with Mary.  A close reading of the Greek text reveals what the Fathers of the Church also saw, that Mary had disclosed to him the news of her virginal conception of the Son of God through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.  In light of this, Joseph resolves to separate himself from her as in her account of the visit by the Angel Gabriel, he was not mentioned.  Knowing himself to be unworthy of sharing in their mystery he sees his duty now to bow out, entrusting her to God who had chosen her out of all women.  In no way does he suspect her of adultery, as many English translators seem to assume.  In fact, his experience of her holiness was such that, as St. Jerome writes, it was easier for him to believe that she had conceived by the Holy Spirit than that she had sinned.  

This is worth pondering.  St. Joseph, himself a holy man, hears Mary his spouse tell him of the incredible, miraculous, unprecedented conception of God’s Son in her womb, and his mind turned not to suspicion but to belief, and his belief was based not on the testimony of an angel — which had not yet happened — and not by anything he himself had witnessed, but on the clear knowledge of Mary’s holiness.  Free from any taint of sin, her will aligned with that of Almighty God, and always seeing herself as his lowliest servant, the effect of her presence must have been felt very deeply by those around her.  

We stand in awe of the staggering act of mercy which the Son of God undertook in coming to us himself in order to save us from our sins, and at the purity of will with which the Blessed Virgin Mary received him in her womb.