Annunciation, by Spring Dumitrescu
Moreover, today is the day chosen by the Holy Father for the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Russia and Ukraine. Today, I contemplated the Rosary's Joyful Mysteries! Of course, the first of these is the Annunciation. The fruit of the Annunciation is humility. Re-reading the scriptural account of the Annunciation this morning (see Luke 1:26-38), I was struck by this sentence: "But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be." Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death."
It seems wonderful to me that during this particular Lent today's Solemnity kicks off the weekend during which we celebrate Laetare Sunday! Of course, on this Sunday of Lent, we are exhorted to Rejoice and be glad!
As Trevor Hudson notes in his very good little book Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days: God's peace "is a lasting peace that cannot be taken be away from us. It does not depend on our lives running smoothly. God’s peace provides an inner assurance that, ultimately, all will be well. This peace occurs in the presence—not the absence—of upheaval and turmoil." Emerging now from a few very dark weeks, I can see this.
While can and often is used trivially and to excess, what appears in Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Divine Love is a comfort: all shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. Trust me, friend, I understand all too well that is very difficult to believe and even harder to verify in reality. This is why we call it hope. As a friend reminded me in a letter a few years ago: "Easter is coming. Easter is always coming."
Since I've been on a jag with Tom Jones' Praise & Blame album, I am going with the decidedly upbeat and, yes, hopeful "Don't Knock."
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