Tuesday, 25th March 2025, is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord – definitely a day to go to Mass on and definitely a day off Lent! It’s the day when the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive a Son by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Child was to be called Jesus (Luke 1:26–38). Of course, no one saw this event and no one except Mary knew of it, but at the same time it was crucial to the history of humanity. When the Virgin said ‘yes’ to the angel’s announcement, Jesus was conceived and thus a new era of human history began. In fact, Mary’s ‘yes’ perfectly mirrors that of Christ Himself, when He entered the world. As the Letter to the Hebrews says: “as is written of me in the book, I have come to do your will, O God.” The Son’s obedience was reflected in that of His Mother and through the encounter of these two ‘yeses’, God was able to take on a human face. The Annunciation celebrates a central mystery of our Catholic faith: Christmas, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Saviour. [Image: Medieval Histories]. [Portsmouth Diocese e-News)