03/25/2004: "Thoughts on today's Gospel reading"

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary, or in layman's terms The Annunciation. That's why the blog colors have changed again from the Lenten Violet to the Feast/Solemnity White (with a little "Gold" for good luck!) for today.

The Annunciation is the name we use for the angel of the Lord coming to Mary to announce to her that she was to be the mother of Jesus. It marks Christ being conceived in her womb. That's good news for all you kids out there, it means there is only 9 months until Christmas!

Mary has been such a divisive issue amongst Christians in the last few centuries and I wish it weren't the case. Really her role in the Catholic Church isn't something that should be objected to. There are many in The Church who don't place much emphasis on her and those who are particularly devoted to her. There is nothing that The Church says that requires us Catholics to pray Rosaries or anything like that. It is completely acceptable in The Church to pray as Protestants do, making all prayers directly to God. It is also completely acceptable to ask others to pray for us, including those who are part of the Body of Christ in heaven. I think there are many Protestants who don't understand the freedom that exists within the Catholic Church and that we in no way condemn the way that most Protestants pray or require intercessory prayer.

In any case, while there is continued dissent over Mary's Immaculate Conception or her Assumption or even her perpetual virginity, today's celebration is one that we can all rally around. For all Christians, we recognize the importance of The Annunciation and Mary's free yet humble response to the angel of the Lord.

Let's make today a day of unity. A day unlike politics where even though everyone agrees on the truth, they can't acknowlege it because it comes from the wrong party or "over-emphasizes" something that they're trying to minimize. The truth is the truth and we should celebrate it together. Today we celebrate the beginning of Christs life in the womb of the Virgin Mary. May God help us to do it as the one unified body of Christ, His Christian Church.