Readings this Week

  • 23
    Mar

    The Solemnity or Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated on March 25. Here, in his typically lyrical language and powerful imagery, Leo the Great ponders the unfathomable mystery of God becoming man in the womb of a Virgin who had the courage to say "I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word." Through the Father's love and Mary's faith, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us....

  • 23
    Mar

    Bernard here dramatically celebrates Mary's Fiat, or statement of consent in response to the announcement by the archangel Gabriel, behold the handmaiden of the Lord; "let it me done to me according to your word."  Appropriate for Advent or for the Solemnity of the Annunciation on March 25....

  • 23
    Mar

    The story of the Prodigal or wasteful Son is more about the extravagant, loving Father. This story makes clear that God is not a raging tyrant who demands that must be appeased through the suffering of his Son, but rather that the extravagant love of Jesus, son of the extravagant Father, is what makes atonement by way of reparation....