{"id":26335,"date":"2011-03-25T06:35:10","date_gmt":"2011-03-25T10:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2011\/03\/annunciation-of-the-lord-1\/"},"modified":"2011-03-25T06:35:10","modified_gmt":"2011-03-25T10:35:10","slug":"annunciation-of-the-lord-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2011\/03\/annunciation-of-the-lord-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Annunciation of the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Annunciation<\/a><\/p>\n

What happened
\nhere in Nazareth, far from the gaze of the world, was a singular act of God, a
\npowerful intervention in history, through which a child was conceived who was
\nto bring salvation to the whole world. The wonder of the Incarnation continues
\nto challenge us to open up our understanding to the limitless possibilities of
\nGod’s transforming power, of his love for us, his desire to be united with us<\/u>.
\nHere the eternally begotten Son of God became man, and so made it possible for
\nus, his brothers and sisters, to share in his divine sonship. That downward
\nmovement of self-emptying love made possible the upward movement of exaltation<\/u>
\nin which we too are raised to share in the life of God himself (cf. Phil
\n2:6-11).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Spirit who “came upon Mary” (cf. Lk 1:35) is the same
\nSpirit who hovered over the waters at the dawn of Creation (cf. Gen 1:2). We
\nare reminded that the Incarnation was a new creative act. When our Lord Jesus
\nChrist was conceived in Mary’s virginal womb through the power of the Holy
\nSpirit, God united himself with our created humanity, entering into a permanent
\nnew relationship with us and ushering in a new Creation<\/b>. The narrative of the
\nAnnunciation illustrates God’s extraordinary courtesy<\/u> (cf. Mother Julian of
\nNorwich, Revelations 77-79). He does not impose himself, he does not simply
\npre-determine the part that Mary will play in his plan for our salvation: he
\nfirst seeks her consent. In the original Creation there was clearly no question
\nof God seeking the consent of his creatures, but in this new Creation he does so<\/u>.
\nMary stands in the place of all humanity. She speaks for us all when she
\nresponds to the angel’s invitation. Saint Bernard describes how the whole court
\nof heaven was waiting with eager anticipation for her word of consent that
\nconsummated the nuptial union between God and humanity. The attention of all
\nthe choirs of angels was riveted on this spot, where a dialogue took place that
\nwould launch a new and definitive chapter in world history. Mary said,
\n“Let it be done to me according to your word.” And the Word of God
\nbecame flesh.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we reflect on this joyful mystery, it gives us hope, the
\nsure hope that God will continue to reach into our history, to act with
\ncreative power so as to achieve goals which by human reckoning seem impossible.
\nIt challenges us to open ourselves to the transforming action of the Creator
\nSpirit who makes us new, makes us one with him, and fills us with his life. It
\ninvites us, with exquisite courtesy, to consent to his dwelling within us, to
\nwelcome the Word of God into our hearts, enabling us to respond to him in love
\nand to reach out in love<\/b> towards one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

Pope Benedict XVI<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

14 May 2009<\/span><\/p>\n

Basilica
\nof the Annunciation, Israel<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/font><\/p>\n

As a way of deepening the Mystery of the Incarnation, here is  “Beyond the Clash of Absolutes: Abortion<\/a>” taken from Carl A. Anderson’s 2010 book, <\/font>Beyond<\/a><\/i> <\/a>A House Divided<\/a><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happened here in Nazareth, far from the gaze of the world, was a singular act of God, a powerful intervention in history, through which a child was conceived who was to bring salvation to the whole world. The wonder of the Incarnation continues to challenge us to open up our understanding to the limitless … Continue reading Annunciation of the Lord<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2017,32088,1929],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}