Every year, the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25–nine months before Christmas!) reminds us of the day when an angel visited Mary and invited her in a unique and powerful way to participate in God’s loving plan for the world. Through her “yes” and through her carrying and giving birth to Jesus, Mary carried the Word of God and allowed the Incarnation to unfold.
For Verbum Dei, this feast has extra meaning, as we consider it our community’s feast day, and this year is extra meaningful, as we are celebrating the community’s 60th anniversary!
Through masses, concerts, and other events, Verbum Dei communities around the globe are giving thanks for these 60 years and reflecting on the gifts of a life rooted in the Word.
Join us in reflecting with this excerpt from the writing of Jaime Bonet, founder of Verbum Dei.
“The love of God, manifested in Jesus Christ, was made perceptible and tangible in Mary. As a child senses the breath, the feel, the silent presence, the warmth of affection, and the face of its mother even in darkness, Mary brings forth the presence of the divine even to the very depths of our hearts. The hidden plans of God are brought to the threshold of each person’s being and call gently to each soul with the gaze of Mary that is both piercing and kind.
The voice of God–the call of the Most High–becomes a whisper and a kiss of love when Mary awakens and nurtures us like a mother who draws close to her child’s crib and draws them out of sleep. When Mary widens our gaze, which in turn broadens and softens our cowering demeanor, our eyes are opened little by little to the reality of a Christ who is complete and universal.
The panorama that Mary projects, like the dawn, expands our horizons, which reach forth with her to all places. Before Mary, even the biggest, blackest clouds shine, to the point of becoming incandescent, like a storm pierced by the sun. The most oppressive and desperate crises, with Mary, are clothed in hope, and are broken open in a life-giving way, as a dense cloud is ripped open and pours forth abundant rain.”
