Tradition has placed the feast of the Annunciation—the moment when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and conceived Jesus in her womb—exactly nine months before Christmas, on March 25. However, it is sometimes moved so that it does not fall during Holy Week, Easter Week, or on a Sunday.

The story of the Annunciation comes to us from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Six months after the conception of John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel visited Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, but not yet living in his household.

Gabriel greeted Mary by saying, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” She was confused and troubled, and Gabriel explained, saying, “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.”

Gabriel went on to explain that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and “the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

Mary’s response to this incredible invitation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Today’s feast honors the Incarnation by which Jesus takes on our human nature, and it honors Mary for her crucial role in that gracious movement: all of salvation hinges on Mary’s “yes” in this moment. By her “yes” we, also, are destined for divinity. It is her acceptance of God’s call to bear Jesus to the world that gives us the courage and strength to bear Jesus to the world. It is her cooperation with the Word of God that gives our own humanity a share in God’s glory.
See images and video from the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, and spend a few moments in prayer there, in this part of our online tour of the Holy Land.

Gabriel’s visit to Mary is depicted in the Basilica in both stained glass and in a painted mural. The Annunciation is also the namesake of the chapel in Pangborn Hall, and is represented symbolically in the stained glass image shown here.

On this feast of the Annunciation, let us say “yes” with Mary to God’s invitation to bear Jesus to the world!