Feast of the Annunciation is Under Appreciated

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JamalChristophr

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I was just thinking today at mass that the Feast of the Annunciation is really under appreciated by us Catholics in general. It just seems to slide by, while I feel it ought to be a BIG day like Pentecost and Christmas.

What are your thoughts on this?

And anything else you might want to talk about regarding the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary…
 
The Annunciation has always been one of my favourite feasts. God becomes one of us when Mary gives her yes to God- how amazing!!! It is also special to me because I made my Marian consecration on the Annunciation. In university we would always have a special evening Mass and celebration for the Annunciation… So I was surprised that none of my local parishes have a second Mass or some kind of celebration for this feast. I wasn’t able to go to Mass this year because the ones nearby were all during work hours.
 
I was thinking at mass today that it should be a “bigger deal” too. Was wondering why it wasn’t a holy day of obligation. Our priest chose a nice hymn about Mary for us to sing, and gave a very good homily about Our Lady. He also included a Hail Mary after communion. It was a very nice mass.
 
Sadly it passes very quietly here compared to how it used to be.Thank you for the thread 🙂
 
JamalChristophr said:
I was just thinking today at mass that the Feast of the Annunciation is really under appreciated by us Catholics in general. It just seems to slide by, while I feel it ought to be a BIG day like Pentecost and Christmas.

What are your thoughts on this?

And anything else you might want to talk about regarding the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary…
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For the eastern Catholic churches the observation in general is Sundays and:
  • The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas)
  • The Epiphany
  • The Ascension
  • The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
  • The Dormition of Holy Mary, the Mother of God
Byzantine Catholic Church has the following Marian Great Feasts:
  • The Nativity of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (September 8)
  • The Protection of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (October 1)
  • The Entrance of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary into the Temple (November 21)
  • The Annunciation of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (March 25)
  • The Dormition of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (August 15)
Of those, it is required for the pastors and bishop to celebrate the Dormition.
 
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It’s said that Maryam, which is closer to how one says her name in Aramaic or Greek, was just 14 1/2 years old then.

I would like to have seen her and Gabriel at this time, although it’s commonly said that seeing angels tends to really freak people out.

It would have been nice to accompany her then to Ain Karim to see her cousin Elizabeth. I’ve heard it takes about 4 days on foot. I’m not sure if Joseph went with her or not. Maybe she had a little donkey that carried her.
 
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I went to mass today. The priest didn’t even mention that it was the feast of the annunciation. His homily was about Jesus being on earth for 40 days after his resurrection and how he lives within us now as he was there for the disciples then. A good homily, but not what I was hoping for. We didn’t say the Creed either…
 
Pentecost and Christmas and Easter are joyful days where hope is overflowing to everyone.

The Annunciation and the following pregnancy were probably not a good time for Mary. Imagine what she must have been feeling at that age under those circumstances. It would seem to me to be an occasion in which we could join our confusion and uncertainty to our mother Mary’s which she must have felt.
 
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MOTHER of Christ, hear thou thy people’s cry
Star of the deep and Portal of the sky!
Mother of Him who thee made from nothing made.
Sinking we strive and call to thee for aid:
Oh, by what joy which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.
 
We had a beautiful Mass with Ordinarium VIII Missa de Angelis and the cantor sang the Magnificat when we received Holy Communion. We sang other traditional Marian hymns as well both in Latin and in the vernacular. It is one of my favourite days in the church year.
 
Nice.
I love the Feast because it’s also my birthday! LOL And since it often occurs during Holy Week, ( a couple of years ago it was on Good Friday) it’s often MOVED, 😣
 
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