| |
|
St.
George Maronite Catholic Church
|
ANNOUNCEMENT TO MARY
Liturgical Notes:
Announcement to Mary
Second Sunday of Announcement
The second
Sunday of the Season of Announcement
commemorates the announcement to Mary that she
is to be the Mother of God. The feast actually
recalls two aspects of the same salvific
mystery: the incarnation of the divine Word and
the motherhood of Mary. For this reason, the
feast was given different names according to the
aspect which was being emphasized. With time,
the incarnation of the Son of God was stressed
on the feast of the Birth of our Lord and
today's feast became a Marian feast.
In
addition to this second Sunday of the Season of
Announcement, the Maronite Church celebrates the
Annunciation on March 25th. The feast of the
Annunciation appeared in the West, in Italy,
during the fifth century, and was eventually
adopted by the Maronite Church.
The
great announcement to Mary, the fulfillment of
the promises of the prophets, took place in the
humble home of Mary in Nazareth. At the time,
Mary was probably between fourteen and sixteen.
Again it was Gabriel, the messenger of the end
times, who brought the wonderful message to the
young girl.
In many
ways, the announcement to Mary can be compared
to the announcement to Zechariah. Both
apparitions took place during the day and both
Zechariah and Mary were to be found at prayer.
Mary, the Queen, is speaking with her Lord in
her own home. It was necessary for Zechariah to
go to the Temple and encounter the Lord in the
holy of holies. When the angel appeared to
Zechariah, he was described as "standing."
During the announcement to Mary, the angel
greets her with signs of respect, gives her the
good news and departs. He is not described as
"standing." The angel himself praises Mary, "You
have found favor with God."
In the
name of all of humanity, Mary consented to be
the instrument through which salvation was to be
brought into the world. One recalls Eve, who
consented to bring darkness and sin into the
world. With Mary, the New Eve, salvation history
is at a turning point. She is to be the "Mother
of the Light."
|