Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great occasion of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which should have occurred as it does every year on the twenty-fifth day of March, but as that day coincided with the Good Friday celebrations, therefore, it was postponed to this day, the first day after the Easter Octave had ended.
On this occasion, we commemorate that very important moment, when the Good News of God was first announced to us mankind, the sign of salvation for all humanity, the sign of hope beyond all despair and darkness that had covered our world and our lives, like a piercing light through a veil of great darkness. For with the announcement of the Good News of the coming of our Saviour by the Archangel Gabriel, a world once in darkness now has seen the Light of God again.
Today while we continue to celebrate together the joyful season of Easter, we are called to recall once again, how it all began, and of the Lord’s promise, where He had promised His salvation upon us, and His liberation of us all from our enthrallment to sins and to all the wickedness of our sinfulness. He has promised us the coming of a Saviour, and in Jesus Who was announced to the world that fateful day in Nazareth, God made full and perfectly completed, His eternal promise.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we see the example of Mary, the Mother of our Lord, the greatest of all saints and the closest to the throne of her beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For Mary was an essential instrument in the salvation of all mankind, whom God had prepared from the beginning, special and adorned to be the vessel to bear the Saviour and Lord of all creation Himself in her.
And that was why she was conceived herself without sin, without the taint of sin and wickedness which would make her unworthy to bear the Lord in her. But even more important than this, is that she remained true and faithful to God and all of His plans, even though such a plan was truly so grand and beyond our human understanding. And the burden of such a revelation was truly great indeed. Just imagine, if we are in Mary’s position, and an Archangel of God appearing before us, telling that she would become the mother of the Lord Most High Himself?
Mary, human as she was just like us, she was filled with uncertainty and doubts too. That was why she sought clarification from the Archangel Gabriel, that she was still a virgin, betrothed but had not yet consummated the marriage she was to have with Joseph her betrothed, and yet she was to bear the Son of God in her? And the Archangel Gabriel through his words revealed the truth about our Saviour to the whole world.
That He is the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh, that from the beginning and before the beginning of time, had been with the Father, inseparable and perfect in unity as God, and yet, by the will of the Lord, had been incarnate into the flesh of man, and became as men are, and as the Son of Man, He was to bear all of mankind’s sins and faults, and bearing with Him all these, He was to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice and offering to God for our trespasses.
And thus now, as we glory and rejoice in the outcome of the Lord’s plan for our salvation, and as He had shown us the path to our redemption through our faith in His Son Jesus, our Lord, now we also remember the moment when it all began, when God revealed to the world, that His Saviour is coming, and is entering the world. And as we rejoice together celebrating our Lord’s love and care for us, let us heed the examples of Mary.
For Mary is our example in faith, in her devotion and undying commitment to our God, that she surrendered herself completely to God and entrusting herself to His plans and to His will. She followed on the path God had set up for her, even to following her Son in His ministry, and even all the way through the path of the cross, until she was there at the moment of His crucifixion, through which we have gained the redemption from our sins.
Let us all follow her examples, and practice our faith in our own actions. And as we rejoice in this Easter season, let us all remember those who have little or no joy, and especially our brethren who have yet to hear the word of our God’s salvation. Let us bring to them the light of our God, and may all of us receive salvation together as one people, and one day be able to glorify Him together, with His blessed mother Mary, whose faith is an inspiration to us all. God bless us all. Amen.