Friday was the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day the Church celebrates the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to a son. The Holy Spirit overshadowed the humble virgin, and she conceived our Lord.
I asked my husband why this feast takes place during Lent. It seems to be a little out of place within the church calendar. The reason is simple. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25 because it is exactly nine months before December 25, the day when it celebrates Jesus’ birth. Advent is the season of expectation, but every mother knows that the eager expectation begins the moment you discover that there is life in your womb! How wonderful that the Church recognizes this and allows the excitement to begin building even now.
My husband and I hope to bring our children into the rhythm of the church year in creative and age-appropriate ways. They are still very young, but we discussed ideas for how we could celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation with our children a couple years from now. We think that doing a pro-life related activity would be an appropriate way to honor the conception of Jesus. So we found this list of ideas on the internet:
- Donate money to a crisis pregnancy center.
- Donate your unwanted maternity clothing or baby items.
- Organize a baby food and diaper drive at your church.
- Volunteer to watch children at the local center.
- Open your home to a pregnant woman for the duration of her pregnancy and aftercare.
- Offer to pay for an expectant mother’s medical care.
- Drive a pregnant woman to her prenatal appointments.
- Pay for a crisis pregnancy center ad in the Sunday newspaper.
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