Reflecting on the Gospel for this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, I first am reminded of the many pictures of Mary and the angel Gabriel, and most especially as represented by the masters of the Italian Renaissance. ...

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Annunciation, postponed for two weeks because this year the traditional date of March 25th fell on Monday of Holy Week. I personally would prefer to consider this the ...

The feast of the Annunciation is about interruptions. It is about hope.|| Renaissance artists depicted the Annunciation in their imaginations, but the prosaic reality cannot have been that this simple Jewish maiden was ...

This week we began the second part of Lent. All the gospels are from The Gospel according to John. We get the sense and feel of the approaching rejection Jesus will face in Jerusalem. Even as we enter into the story, we ...

"O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge."||The first reading gives us a quick look into Jeremiah's mind and heart. As a prophet, he suffered for his message and his identity. He was misjudged, maligned, and rejected. Today's ...

In the Feast of the annunciation, the Church celebrates the wondrous proclamation of the fullness of God's saving will. The rich banquet of biblical texts assigned to today's Mass provides extraordinary insight into the ...

It is always a striking juxtaposition to celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation in the heart of the Lenten fast. In the midst of the desert we come upon this wondrous feast with all its Christmas resonance. But if we paid ...

It is three months today since Christmas and so it is the day the Catholic Church celebrates the day of Mary's conceiving of Jesus. "Sacrifice and offerings You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me." It is ...

A very wise Jesuit priest once listened to me talk about how I pray and asked me, "Where is the focus of your prayer - on you or on God?" I realized that I often prayed for what I wanted from God but rarely prayed to find ...

"YES"|And Mary said, "Yes," to God's messenger. "May it be as you say."|As a young girl, I was fascinated by this story of a young woman (not too aware that she might have been a young teenager) who said 'yes' to her God ...