The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Collect
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 for ever. Amen.


The Psalm
40:5-11
or
Canticle 15 (The Song of Mary)


The Readings
Isaiah 7:10-14     +     Hebrews 10:4-10     +     Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
~Luke 1:26-28

In our current context, most of us find ourselves suddenly spending much more time at home. And so one of the things that both impresses and encourages me on this Annunciation is that it is a homely scene. This divine-human encounter par excellence takes place, in all likelihood, in a humble house. Perhaps, as depicted so often in art, in a kitchen, or a bedroom, or on a back porch. Whatever the precise setting, we are told that the angel is sent to Mary's hometown, to her own unassuming context. The angelic annunciation comes, no doubt, as she is about her daily tasks in a world of comparative simplicity--a world that consisted, for most people most of the time, of work in and about the home or its immediate environs. That is where the messenger is sent--God comes to make a home among us by first making a home in the womb of a young woman at home.

And in this time when I am also missing the celebration of the eucharist, and saddened at the prospect of the necessity of being unable to celebrate the holy mysteries of the altar for some time, I am also encouraged by noting that this encounter between Mary and the angel is unexpected, unprecedented, and perplexing. Yet she chooses to trust God. And even amid the griefs, challenges, and uncertainties we face, I know our Lord's promise: 'Lo, I am with you always.' I know that I have tasted the goodness of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament before, and I will again. And I know that now, even while dispersed and in longing, we are the Body of Christ by the power of the Spirit--'for nothing will be impossible with God.'

Here is a poem for this day, by the composer and liturgist, Bob Hurd. I love especially the middle stanza, in which he draws out the insight that the Body and Blood we take and receive in the eucharist first took a body and received the blood of life from Mary, his mother.

Be it done unto me.

Be it done unto me.

How can you who encompass all things
be encompassed by me?
In whose image I am wondrously made, be made, then, of me.

This my body and this my blood: Take and receive.
They are you now, O child of my womb.
O fruit of my tree.

I will love you with an unfailing love,
so wide and so deep,
that the arrow that pierces your side, will surely pierce me.

Be it done unto me.
Be it done unto me.

The Annunciation, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898

Closing Prayer

Almighty and Everlasting God, who has stooped to raise fallen humanity through the child-bearing of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Grant that we, who have seen your glory revealed in our human nature and your love made perfect in our weakness, may daily be renewed in your image and conformed to the pattern of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

~from Saint Augustine's Prayer Book 

Saint Joseph

The Collect
O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm
89:1-29

The Readings
II Samuel 7:4, 8-16     +     Romans 4:13-18     +     Luke 2:41-52

Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing;
   from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever;
   you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
~Psalm 89.1-2


Earlier today, in response to Pope Francis' call to "unite spiritually" in prayer across the globe during this pandemic, I joined many millions of others in praying the rosary. The rosary is one approach to prayer that many find meaningful, and it is not confined to Roman Catholics--using beads or knotted rope as an aid to prayer is an ancient practice found in one form or another in many religions and denominations. But some people don't find this particular practice helpful, and that's fine--as Christians, we seek to follow the leading of the Spirit in finding ways of being faithful in prayer, and that will often vary from one person to the next. What we do need to guard against is looking with scorn upon the ways in which another has been led to pray (we Christians, unfortunately, have quite a history of judging others, despite St. Paul's admonition in Romans 14: Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls.)

Beyond questions about different ways of praying, it is inevitable during times like these that some will also question the practice of prayer itself--"What good is prayer? A waste of time!"--"We don't need thoughts and prayers, we need action!"--"Put your trust in science, not fairy tales!" But I will continue to pray. I have known the gift of being able to come to God in prayer: to unburden myself, to receive peace, to express praise for unspeakable beauty, to offer gratitude from a thankful heart, to lift the needs and memory of others to God, to entrust a thing to God when I am at the end of my ability to do anything else. I know that to abandon prayer in a time such as this would be to invite death to my spirit, even if my body should endure (and eventually for all of us, as we were reminded just a few weeks ago, that too will return to dust). And I know that it is prayer that will sustain my spirit so that my body may work to bless others in their need.

So, I will pray. Even when, like Joseph, I find myself confused, or in danger, or not knowing the steps ahead of me. Of the little that the Gospels reveal about Joseph, they tell us at least this much: he was a man who listened to God, and responded with obedience. May we all be so faithful.

Closing Prayer
the following is adapted from the revised Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, from "A Litany of Saint Joseph"

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

O Christ, hear us.
O Christ, graciously hear us.

Word of God, and the eternal Wisdom of God, humbling yourself to be born and live among us, glory to you.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Blessed Joseph, husband of Mary and guardian of the Incarnate Word, pray for us.

Joseph, at work in the carpenter shop,
     inspire us to work for the common good.
Joseph, receiving God's call and obeying it,
     teach us to listen and to respond.
Joseph, in Bethlehem's stable and in exile in Egypt,
     open our hearts to the stranger and sojourner.
Joseph, whom Jesus called father and in whose care he grew to adulthood,
     bless our families and sanctify our households.
Joseph, completing your life's work and dying with Mary and Jesus at your side,
     pray for us now and in the hour of our death.
Pray for us, O holy Joseph,
     that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Ancient of Days, Alpha and Omega, still you knew the long years of growth and learning; Lord Jesus, teach us by the example of Joseph to act in justice tempered by kindness, to be obedient to your call, and to work for the well-being of those committed to our care; make us faithful in the work you give us to do.
Amen.