A guest post by Janet Cupo, for the feast of the Annunciation

I have been thinking a lot about the Annunciation this past year. For many years, I’ve tried to say the Angelus morning, noon, and evening. This has been really easy to remember since I started working because the day falls naturally into these divisions. However, only recently have I ever thought much about what we are saying.

Of course, this prayer is about something that happened to Mary. Gabriel appeared and asked her to become the mother of Our Lord; she said, “Yes.” But I started wondering if this is the only reason we pray this prayer—to commemorate the Incarnation. It seems to me now that when we pray these words, we are accepting an invitation of our own. We are accepting God’s will for us and when we do, the Word is made flesh in us.

So, I’ve been trying to be more conscious of this—more intentional about accepting this request. More often than not, I forget my intention fairly quickly, but it has been heard and accepted, and the Hearer doesn’t forget. Sometimes there is a little metaphysical tugging of the sleeve—a little rumor of the Word.

Other good Annunciation posts at Castle in the Sea and All Manner of Thing.