Forgive me, a sinner.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation. What we commemorate with this feast is the day when the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity became incarnate in the womb of the Most Holy Theotokos.
And there is no better way to celebrate the Annunciation than to make our Lord and Master incarnate here in Central Texas. We do that when we speak the way Christ Jesus speaks—with wisdom and honesty and courage. We incarnate our Lord and Master when we listen the way He listens—with compassion and patience and respect. Christ Jesus becomes incarnate when we look at other people the way He does—with hope and joy and with love.
That is especially important during this time when we are all stuck at home together. And it will become even more important in the weeks and months ahead as this region and our nation are recovering from this crisis.
But the way we will make our Lord and Master incarnate in our lives is by following the example of the Mother of God. Because she said yes, the incarnation became a reality. And there are many, many ways we can say yes to Christ Jesus: By continuing to keep the fast, by persevering in our prayers, by making sure that our offering gets to the parish, by helping others whenever the opportunity presents itself.
But the most effective way, the most powerful way that we say yes to Christ Jesus is by receiving the Holy Eucharist. Because when we partake of the Holy Gifts, we are united to our Lord and Master just like the Most Holy Theotokos.
In the past, many of us have take our participation in the Holy Eucharist for granted. It was just something we did every week; it was just part of our routine. But now that we can only receive the Holy Gifts every other week or so, and now that we have to make a special effort and show up at the parish at all sorts of weird times, we are being reminded just how precious this Holy Mystery truly is.
And that means we can take our preparation for the Holy Eucharist even more seriously. Instead of streaming a movie, we can read the Canon of Preparation for Holy Communion. Instead of making another batch of popcorn, we can read The Prayers of Preparation for Holy Communion. Those activities will help us get ready for the Holy Gifts, and that will, in turn, open our heart further to our Lord and Master.
Mothers and Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, as we celebrate this lovely feast, let us thank the Mother of God for saying yes, and let us follow her example, because that is how our Lord and Master will be incarnate in each of us and throughout Central Texas, and that is how we will all be able, with one mouth and one heart, to praise and glorify the all honorable and majestic Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.