The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us; and we saw his glory.

So today is March 25.  Does that ring through to anyone reading this?  I can almost guarantee that my wife’s hand is in the air wherever she is reading this.  9 months from today we celebrate Christmas!  Don’t panic, you still have time to buy presents.

It didn’t hit me until the last line of the first reading from Isaiah…

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!

So I scrolled back up to the top of the page and saw that to day is the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  And immediately my mind went in the wrong direction.  How so?  No Lenten sacrifices have to be observed, followed, maintained or practiced on a Solemnity!!!  Beef beware!!!  Instead of my first thought being Thank You Mary for saying YES to the Lord.  Thank You God for sending us Your Only Son Who would die for MY SINS.  Nope, I’m thinking about heading to Friend’s Tavern and getting half pound  Gyro burger.

Whether I head to Friend’s or not, I will commit to saying two Rosaries today.  The first being the Salvation Mysteries and the second Rosary being the Joyful Mysteries.  Find something special to do today because it is a very special day in our Church calendar.  It is also the day when one our most commons prayers began…

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

Thank you Mary for your beautiful response to God’s call…

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”

Do something great for our Lord today – contemplate our readings for the day and then pray the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary: The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation of Christ in the Temple and the Finding of Christ in the Temple.

God’s will, not mine, be done.  May it be done to me according to your word.

Be not afraid; just have faith.  Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.