The Feast Of The Annunciation

Do you ever sit and contemplate what Mary must have been doing before the angel turned up on her doorstep? Nazareth was a bit of a backwater, a nondescript dot on a map where nothing very much happened. Life would have had it's daily rhythms and rituals for the inhabitants of this obscure little place. But all that was about to change for this unremarkable little hamlet, a place that would have faded into obscurity if it was not for that one life changing event which changed the life of one young Jewish girl and the whole of humanity forever.

Nine months before the birth of our Saviour, the Angel Gabriel appeared to this young Jewish woman, who was alone in the quiet of the day. He announced God’s plan of salvation to her and then waited for her response.

Can you imagine what must have been going through this young girl’s mind? Not only the ‘practical’ questions about what would take place and how it would happen. But also the implications this would have for the situation she now found herself in as a betrothed woman; and what it would mean for her family.

Mary’s role was pivotal to the whole plan. Her Yes was a gift to all mankind. The whole of creation must have held its breath – waiting and hoping for her answer to be Yes. It must have let out a collective sigh of relief when that one simple word was forthcoming. Two thousand years later we are still benefiting from that gracious answer.

We know that at the moment of the Annunciation Mary was commissioned by God to bring Jesus into the world. And in a certain sense God extends that same invitation to us.  Like Mary we have a choice, we can say Yes or No. God places so many possibilities before us and awaits our answer. Will we say yes to marriage, to Motherhood. Or maybe we are being called to the priesthood or religious life and are afraid of what our yes might mean. Much the same as Mary, we may need to listen to the words of the angel " do not be afraid." Again, similar to Mary, our answer holds eternal consequences not only for ourselves but for those God has entrusted to us.

For Mary, this visitation comes as something completely unexpected. God disrupts the daily course of her life, overturning its settled rhythms and conventional expectations and drops this “bombshell” into her lap. She, like all of us, must learn to walk by faith, trusting in God, that he will somehow work it out. So let us ask Our Lady today to reveal to us own vocation and how we can respond more fully and live in a more deeply and committed way to her Son.

Did you know in years past here in the U.K on this feast day in Tichborne in Hampshire flour would be blessed and distribute to the poor and needy. This flour was then turned into a lovely sweet tasting plum loaf. So if you feel like having a go here is a recipe courtesy of the BBC for a scrumptious plum loaf.

225g/8oz prunes, pits removed, roughly chopped
50g/2oz currants
50g/2oz sultanas
150ml/5fl oz Earl Grey tea
450g/1lb strong plain flour, plus extra for flouring
125ml/4½fl oz milk
6 tbsp soft brown sugar
110g/4oz butter, melted, plus extra butter for greasing
2 free-range eggs, beaten
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
15g/½oz dried yeast

Method
Place the dried fruits into a bowl and pour over the Earl Grey tea. Mix well and set aside to soak for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, sift the flour into a large bowl. Prepare a large loaf tin by greasing and flouring the bottom and sides.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar, melted butter and eggs until well combined.
Add the spices, vanilla extract and salt and whisk again to combine.
Add the dried yeast and whisk again to combine.
Add the sifted flour a little at a time and whisk until all of the flour has been incorporated into the mixture and the mixture comes together as a soft dough.
Strain the soaked dried fruits and discard the tea. Add the soaked fruits to the dough and knead for 3-5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic and the fruits are well combined in the mixture.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size (proved).
When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Transfer the dough to a large loaf tin and set aside for a further hour to rise.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
When the dough has risen, bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until golden-brown. Set aside to cool in the tin.
Allow to cool before slicing.
To serve, cut the plum bread into slices and serve with butter and cheese.

Or you could take a leaf out of the Swedish people’s book and cook waffles. Apparently this is the national dish of the day when celebrating the feast of the Annunciation because today marks the day when there was some confusion over a pronunciation: “varfrudagen” which means Our Lady’s Day and “vaffeldagen” meaning waffle day! So over time the tradition has been to always have waffles on this feast day.