A blessed, joyous and grace-filled solemnity of the Annunciation to one and all! Today, the divine Word was made incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary, when she gave her fiat, the one who was full of grace became the ark and dwelling place of the source of all grace, and all of creation and history changed – for the better, and for the best. When the monk Dionysius Exiguus, who formulated what we now know as the modern calendar in 525 A.D., he assigned March 25th as the first day of the year, since that was when the new covenant of grace began, Man’s true nature and destiny were revealed, and the work of his salvation on its way to being accomplished. It remained New Year’s Day in England until 1752, and the universal Church still celebrates the current ‘New Year’s Day’ as the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
March 25th was also the original day, as tradition would have it, of the first Good Friday, when all creation was restored by the death of the God-made-Man.
And it all began with the ‘fiat’ of a young maiden, who embodies the perfect response to the will of God, with haste, with promptness, with joy.
Today is also the day the Holy Father will consecrate all of humanity, Ukraine and, yes, Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The victory is ours, regardless of what dark clouds may appear on the horizon.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis!