The Feast of the Annunciation on the Monday in Holy Week

                                                         Antiphon on Psalm 85 for the feast 

Truth has sprung up 

from 

the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven. 

Technically, liturgically, correctly, any feast that comes during  Holy Week or Easter Week is celebrated After those 2 weeks and so the Annunciation is celebrated on April 8th...  Hence, if you are a purist you can look at this then... 

But this particular year it seems wonderful that today is Monday in Holy Week  AND the Annunciation  - new beginnings in the face of death, joy in the midst of grief, truth springing up from  the very earth.

This is actually verse 11 of Psalm 85 but here’s it’s in the past tense because it’s a done deal!. It blew me away when I read the antiphon - I have often wanted to use this verse as a meditation verse but it was never quite right.... Until now, when truth Has sprung up from the earth, righteousness Has looked down from heaven with the Annunciation! God never waits for our proper timing to accomplish things - "please wait til I do this and Then...." Nope, NOW it  the time.  

I have encountered this antiphon more than once, let’s just say, but it feels like today is the first time I noticed the change in tense! Such is the power of Scripture, "ever ancient, ever new" to steal from St Augustine. And Augustine always reminds me of Bill Mahedy who was fond of saying  that the joy of getting older is that you can hide your own Easter eggs! I Guess that’s good news...  And so, as we enter Holy Week and the very guts of the faith, we are back at the beginning again, reminded that it all begins with the desire of God and is  accomplished by our willing assent,  as it was that day  by Mary's "Yes." And the wold changed.  Happy Day!