Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum

Oh, alas, alas, it has been days and days since last I posted anything, I know! For shame! I am so darn busy right now, it's maddening. And so this little blog-in-forming, as I call it, gets neglected. In fact, I approved some lovely comments recently by some of you and have yet to reply to them! Agh! I will, though, I will.

First off, I am rather amazed that Sunday is Palm Sunday and Lent is nearing its end. Holy Week is upon us! How can this be? The days go by so fast. :/


Today is Lady Day! I love that English name for it. There's just something about it that makes my heart quicken. It is the feast of the Annunciation, when we remember when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Our Lady Mary, announcing the coming of the Saviour, whom she would conceive in her womb. Today is a day of joy! The beginning of the Incarnation and the setting forth in motion of our salvation.

Since I don't have a lot of time, but I still would like to share some thoughts for today, I am linking a lovely reflection from Deacon Keith Fournier on today's feast: Mary Teaches Us How to Live.

Also, one of my favorite religious blogs, Vultus Christi, has a beautiful post for today, The Two Annunciations. I urge you to read it.

And now, a poem, Ave Maria plena Gratia, from Oscar Wilde, who on his deathbed came to faith, and was baptized and anointed by a Catholic priest.

Was this His coming! I had hoped to see
A scene of wondrous glory, as was told
Of some great God who in a rain of gold
Broke open bars and fell on Danaë:
Or a dread vision as when Semele
Sickening for love and unappeased desire
Prayed to see God’s clear body, and the fire
Caught her white limbs and slew her utterly:
With such glad dreams I sought this holy place,
And now with wondering eyes and heart I stand
Before this supreme mystery of Love:
A kneeling girl with passionless pale face,
An angel with a lily in his hand,
And over both with outstretched wings the Dove.

The Annunciation, by John William Waterhouse