Congratulations to our Confirmandi, who just received a great Sacrament to strengthen them in their faith! May God’s Spirit of Life empower them to live their lives as mature Catholics, and keep them close to God, especially with their weekly participation in the Holy Eucharist at Sunday Mass!

Just this past March 25th, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation. For those who don’t recognize it, this is one of the greatest feasts of the liturgical calendar of the Church. It marks the sacred Incarnation of Our Lord (when Jesus was conceived) and the beginning of our redemption. This great story is recounted by St. Luke, who was very close to Our Lady, and he probably heard from her own lips, in the same way that he heard stories about the infancy of Jesus that he mentions in his Gospel. It is the feast marking the Angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, asking her to be the Mother of God’s only Son.

What a beautiful story! When she said “yes,” God’s Word to her took on flesh. The consent of Mary was essential for our redemption. The Archangel Gabriel, in order to reassure Our Lady, informs her of the miraculous conception of her cousin Elizabeth, who was considered incapable of bearing children. He concludes his statement declaring; "for nothing shall be impossible with God." Mary, in her free response to the messenger of the Most High, offered to God the free gift of her obedience. As she was created by God to receive this mission, she was prepared in a special way for her mission by being preserved from original sin. That is why the Archangel in his initial salute calls her full of grace: Only a person that had been conceived without sin could be referred to in that way. Mary’s consent did not mean that God was bound by the will of a creature, but that God had foreseen from all eternity the cooperation of Our Lady. For that reason He gave her the gifts that prepared her for this mission.

The Church's celebration of this feast is believed to date to the early 5th century. Contemplation of the mystery of the Savior's birth has led Christians not only to invoke the Blessed Virgin as the Mother of Jesus, but also to recognize her as Mother of God. This truth was held from the early centuries of the Christian era, and was solemnly proclaimed at the Church Council of Ephesus in 431. Mary can be called Mother of God because she is the mother of Jesus, who has both the divine and the human natures.

The Annunciation has always been celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas Day. One sign of the significance this Christian feast had throughout Western culture is that New Year's Day was for centuries celebrated on March 25. Years ago, the Annunciation was a Holy Day of obligation throughout the Universal Church. And just as Christ began His life on Earth in the womb of Our Lady at the moment of His conception, all human beings begin their biological life at conception. Since this feast strongly reminds us of this fact, it also reminds us that we have to defend all life in the womb. For this reason, March 25th is the Day of the Unborn Child, officially recognized as such in many countries. Many Catholics who are deeply concerned with the defense of the life of unborn children believe it would be fitting if the Feast of the Annunciation would be restored to this holy day of obligation status, and have brought this matter to the attention of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship.

Given the astonishing fact that God would become a man, we should ask the Lord to increase our faith that everything is possible with Him. Things that from a mere human perspective would seem very difficult or even impossible would happen if they are willed by the Lord. In the same way that God the Father sought the collaboration of Our Lady in the incarnation of His Divine Son, he seeks our cooperation today to save us and to redeem the world, putting an end to its many evils, in particular abortion, contraception and the many evils that are committed against family life.

Even now, Pro-Life America is fired up and ready to defund Planned Parenthood. Just this past week alone, the “Expose Planned Parenthood” coalition mobilized over one million activists to call district offices. Thanks to your help, phones in Congressional district offices across the country have been ringing off the hook! This is wonderful news, but we can’t stop now. In fact, we must increase the pressure we’re applying. Here are 2 things you can do now to help: Flood their inboxes. With Congress back in session, let’s ensure that Congressional e-mail inboxes are full of messages from pro-life constituents demanding the de-funding of Planned Parenthood in the upcoming Continuing Resolution.

I ask you to please take thirty seconds and to join the hundreds of Susan B. Anthony List activists in our Letter to the Editor campaign. Simply write a Letter to the Editor of the Post or the Sun Sentinel, calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood and send it to your local newspapers. And I want you to feel free to click here and review these messaging points and guidelines when writing your letter.

Time and time again Planned Parenthood has proven it is unworthy of our tax dollars. American taxpayers reject their complicity in this abortion-centered business – a willing ally with child traffickers and abusers. Once again, I ask you not just to TALK pro-Life, but to WALK THE TALK! Please take just one more pro-life action this week by sending an e-mail to your two Senators and Representative, and demand that they vote to defund Planned Parenthood in an upcoming Continuing Resolution bill. Thank you for taking action, and have a good week!

Very Rev. Canon Tom