Feast of the Annunciation

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought within herself what manner of salutation this should be.  And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 (Luke 1: 26-34)

Here we are in the middle of Lent, being reminded in the beautiful tradition of the Church that, even though we are now preparing ourselves to suffer with Our Lord through His crucifixion, and so rejoice in His Resurrection -- and our minds are as far away from images of Bethlehem as they can possibly be -- the liturgical wheel keeps revolving.  In other words, in the practical reality of time, while we're moving very close to Easter, we are also moving back around toward Christmas.  On the Feast of the Annunciation, we are exactly nine months from celebrating Jesus' birthday!  Nine months from the Incarnation to the Nativity. Nine months Our Lord spent in the womb of His Mother, Mary.

On the 24th, then, the Church remembers the messenger, the Archangel Gabriel; on the 25th, it's his message we remember.  And the Blessed Virgin's answer: Be it done unto me according to thy word.  At which time the Word was made flesh. And dwelt among us.

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.


All ~ Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.


V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.


R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.


All ~ Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.


V. And the Word was made Flesh.


R. And dwelt among us.


All ~ Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.


V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.


R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

V. Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

History and practice of praying the Angelus  here.
St. Gabriel coloring page by Charlotte  here. 

And St. Gabriel, by the way,  is the patron of:

•broadcasters
•clergy
•communications workers
•diplomats
•messengers
•philatelists
•Portugal
•post offices
•postal services
•postal workers
•radio
•radio workers
•Seattle, Washington, archdiocese of
•secular clergy
•stamp collectors
•telecommunications workers
•telegraphs
•telephones
•television
•television workers

(I looked it up.  A "philatelist" is a stamp collector.)

HAPPY FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION!