👑Pope Innocent XI instituted today's feast in thanksgiving for the liberation of Vienna from the Ottoman siege in 1683, attributing the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. This commemoration is a filial greeting to the Mother of God and an invocation of her powerful protection, recognizing the holiness and strength contained in her name, which, since the dawn of Christianity, has been invoked with love and confidence by the faithful.
🙏 Introit (Ps 44: 13, 15, and 16 | ibid., 2)Vultum tuum deprecabúntur omnes dívites plebis... All the rich among the people shall entreat your countenance with gifts; after her, virgins shall be brought to the King; her companions shall be presented to you with joy and gladness. Ps. My heart has uttered a good word; I speak my works to the King. ℣. Glory be to the Father…
📖 Reading (Ecclus 24:23-31)
As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor, and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all you that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me shall yet hunger, and they that drink me shall yet thirst. He that hearkens to me shall not be confounded, and they that work by me shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
🕊️ Gospel (Lk 1:26-38)
At that time, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the Angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the Angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the Angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.
🤔 Reflections
📜The name of Mary, revealed by the angel in the Gospel, contains a power that the Doctors of the Church have profoundly contemplated. St. Alphonsus Liguori teaches that the name Mary, meaning 'Lady,' indicates her dominion over all creatures, as foretold in the Introit about the rich who entreat her countenance (Ps 44). St. Bernard of Clairvaux urges that in anxieties, we should look to the star and call upon Mary, for her name is a beacon that guides us to a safe harbor, echoing the promise that "he that hearkens to me shall not be confounded" from the Reading. The same Doctor states that this name is honey on the lips and a melody to the ears, reflecting the words of Ecclesiasticus: "My spirit is sweet above honey." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary; St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Homily II on "Missus est").
🔗The Gospel of St. Matthew complements that of St. Luke by presenting the Annunciation from the perspective of St. Joseph. While Luke focuses on the dialogue between the angel and Mary and her consent, Matthew (1:18-25) recounts the angel's appearance to Joseph in a dream. This passage reveals Joseph's anguish, his righteousness, and the divine intervention instructing him not to fear taking Mary as his wife, confirming the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, Matthew's account illuminates the crucial role of Joseph as the guardian of the Virgin and the foster father of the Messiah, an aspect not detailed in Luke's narrative of the Annunciation to Mary.
🧱The writings of St. Paul, though not narrating the Annunciation, provide its theological foundation. In Galatians 4:4, Paul states that "when the fullness of the time was come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law." This doctrinal statement condenses the mystery that Luke's Gospel describes in detail. While Luke gives us the name of the woman, Mary, and the circumstances of her choice and consent, Paul places the event within the divine plan of salvation, highlighting the real humanity of Christ ("born of a woman") as essential for our redemption and adoptive sonship.
🏛️Church documents, such as the Bull Ineffabilis Deus, deepen the angelic salutation "full of grace" recorded in the Gospel. While the text of St. Luke reveals Mary's state at the moment of the Annunciation, the Bull dogmatically defines that this fullness of grace was a singular gift from the first instant of her existence: Mary, "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin." This clarifies that her holiness was not merely preparatory but a unique privilege that made her a worthy tabernacle for the Son of God from her very conception.
🧐See English version of the critical articles here.