Nine months from today, we will be celebrating Christmas once again. Didn’t we just finally begin paying down a huge chunk from this past Christmas’ bills, which was only three months ago?
It seems to come around quicker each year, doesn’t it! Just when you get the tree down, the lights and ornaments put away, and finally stop the incessant All I Want for Christmas music, it seems to be immediately on the horizon.
But today is another reason to mention Christmas. In Christian beliefs, today is the Feast of the Annunciation, contemporarily the Solemnity of the Annunciation, also known as the Feast of the Incarnation, which commemorates the visit of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ.
The Annunciation, the announcement of Jesus' birth to Mary by the angel Gabriel, is found in Luke 1:26-38. Gabriel tells Mary she will conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son named Jesus, by saying, "Hail, full of grace the Lord is with you", to which she responds: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
This is a special day on the Christian calendar. While it is a holy day of obligation where attending Mass is required in many countries, that requirement was removed in 1884 in the United States.
So, as you begin your final preparations to celebrate Easter, and the night Jesus celebrated Passover on Holy Thursday, the night before He was crucified, remember it all began on this day of His conception. When Mary was told of His impending birth.
Not to overlook this important day, let me wish you a very early Merry Christmas!
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