Saints + Scripture: The Annunciation of the Lord

The Popish Plot
vLent 2019: "Memento Mori: Anima Christi"

'Tis the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord: Annunciation-link ūnus, Annunciation-link duo, Wikipedia-link Annunciation, & Wikipedia-link Feast.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

This is the Catholic celebration of the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would conceive & become the mother of Jesus,the Son of God, marking His Incarnation.

Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:

Lord Jesus, as Your dear Mother Mary gave her "fiat" when she responded, "Let it be done to me according to Your word" (Luke, 1:38), so too may I learn to cooperate with God's will.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
The Book of Isaiah, chapter seven, verses ten thru fourteen & chapter eight, verse ten;
Psalm Forty, verses seven & eight(a), eight(b) & nine, ten, & eleven;
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter ten, verses four thru ten;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses twenty-six thru thirty-eight.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel of Luke, we find the Annunciation to Mary. Here is what Gabriel said to the Virgin: “Thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus…. The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning here: this child shall be the fulfillment of the promise made to King David.

And this means that the child is, in fact, the king of the world, the one who would bring unity and peace to the nations. The conviction grew upon Israel that this mysterious descendant of David would be king—not just for a time and not just in an earthly sense, but forever and for all nations. This definitive king of the Jews would be king of the world. He would be our king, as well.

Reflect: Put yourself in Mary’s place at the Annunciation and write down a few feelings and thoughts you would have had. Why was Mary able to clearly and firmly say “yes” to God’s request

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 64
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-seven, verses one thru eight.

Commentary: The Altar of Burnt Offering (Exodus, 27:1-8).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The Divine is united to the human. The invisible has become visible. The infinite has assumed a human form. Humanity has been accepted into the unity of the Divine Person of the Word."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"It is true that Our Lady is Queen of Heaven & earth, but at the same time she is more Mother than Queen."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Our Blessed Lord said the word is the seed, the seed is the word. Man gives the seed. The woman receives the seed, fosters it, nourishes it, gives birth to it, loves it, trains it. There's no such thing as inferiority or superiority. Instead of being a question of inferiority and superiority, it is only a question of the different roles that we play—the man is the symbol of Christ, & the woman is the symbol of the Church. Many people no longer have an understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ. Jesus loves His Body. So when we forget the Church & begin to call her an institution, an establishment, the whole character of the nuptial bond is disrupted. The Blessed Mother beneath the cross is the symbol of the Church, & John is the firstborn. At Pentecost we find that the Body has grown: here are one hundred twenty, with the apostles, Mary in the midst of them."
—Venerable Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979)