The annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel telling out Holy Mother the good news of her being chosen to be the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

On the feast of the Annunciation we celebrate Mary’s yes to God, which brought the Son of God into the world and our redemption near at hand. It was a momentous moment in the history of salvation and it all depended on the response of a young girl. In this meditation we consider:

• Why we needed to be redeemed and why God chose this way to bring it about
• The call of Mary and Joseph from all eternity to fulfil their roles
• The eminent virtues of Mary and Joseph
• The significance of the angel’s message to Mary
• A prayer to Mary by St Bernard calling upon her to say yes
• Mary’s response and our own promptness and saying yes to God