Today March 26

Today is celebrated the glorious feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord. It is His immaculate conception, a conception unlike any other. All His DNA in the human line came from Mary (and there is good reason to believe she was also of the line of David) -- but NOT, as some have said, "all of His DNA" came from her -- else Jesus would have had to be female! Half came directly from the Holy Spirit, thus He had the "Y" chromosome and all such. How do I know? He is "a man like us in all things but sin" -- thus XY and 23 pairs of chromosomes.

I like the picture of the Annunciation by Henry Tanner, as well as the similar depiction in Franco Zeffirelli's film "Jesus of Nazareth," showing a beautiful and serious Jewish girl being addressed by an angel only she can see, though the observer has hints of it in a glorious, diffuse and attractive light.

And it is important to note the timing . . . first she was asked, then the angel (and by extension all creation) waited, then she said "yes." We Catholics have to keep this all-important pause in mind especially when we say the Angelus: "The angel declared unto Mary and she conceived by the Holy Spirit." Hail Mary. Then "I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word." As if it happened all at once, or as if she is consenting to something that -- poof -- has already occurred. The pause is important because it points to Mary's honor, the great honor God paid to her and to her all-important free will. She could have said, "No," after all. She didn't, but she could have. It was a great honor to be the mother of the Messiah, but it was expensive and not everybody would have wanted to pay the price. Thanks be to God she did!

Mary, betrothed to Joseph and thus under Jewish law legally married to him, returned to her family home to prepare for the date when she would formally move in with Joseph, a year after the betrothal. She she was at home in Nazareth when Gabriel appeared to her with the joyous news. I don't know if it's true or not, but Nazareth means "flower," hence St. Bernard says that "the Flower willed to be conceived of a flower, in 'Flower.' in the season of flowers." St. Thérèse would be pleased.

I remember attending an ordination of a priest who said, were he to be made pope, he would make the Annunciation a Holy Day of Obligation. I'm with him; this high holy day deserves to be celebrated in joy, gratitude and fervor in our churches and in our hearts. Thank you, God, and thank you, Mary.