The Feast of the Announcement to Mary: Dawn of the Divine Word
An icon of the Annunciation in the Syriac-Maronite style, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary. A dove descends to symbolize the Holy Spirit.
Introduction: A Luminous Dawn
In a quiet room of Nazareth, a young maiden listens as an angel speaks – and all creation holds its breath. The Feast of the Announcement to Mary, as celebrated in the Maronite tradition, invites us into that sacred hush. It is a moment that glows with personal wonder and cosmic significance: the moment a word of greeting became the Word made flesh. For Maronite Christians, this feast is not merely one day in March, but a radiant dawn at the opening of the liturgical year, placed at the very beginning of our journey of faith. As we prayerfully reflect on this mystery, we find ourselves standing with Mary in her humble home, heart trembling yet trusting, on the threshold of a new creation.
The tone of this meditation is inspired by the gentle, poetic spirit of Maronite devotion. It is contemplative, reverent, and luminous, drawing on deep theology yet aiming to move the heart. We will journey through the historical roots and spiritual riches of the Annunciation feast, especially as our Maronite Church celebrates it. Along the way, we will hear the wisdom of Syriac saints like Ephrem the Syrian and Jacob of Sarug, and we will gently contrast our Eastern approach with the Latin West’s. Ultimately, this is an invitation to stand with Mary – beloved Mother of God, pride of Lebanon, inspiration of Saint Charbel – and to whisper our own “yes” to God’s wondrous plan.
A Feast at the Beginning of the Liturgical Year
The Maronite Church begins its liturgical year with a season of hope and revelation aptly called the Season of Announcements. In the Syro-Antiochene tradition to which the Maronites belong, the weeks before Christmas are not a somber waiting so much as a joyful proclamation. Each Sunday, the Church relives a key moment leading up to the Lord’s Birth: the angelic announcements to Zechariah and to Mary, the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the birth of John the Baptist, the revelation to Joseph in a dream, and finally the glorious Nativity itself. Thus, when Advent comes, the Maronite faithful find themselves progressively entering the mystery of the Word taking flesh, step by step, announcement by announcement, like ascending the rungs of a holy ladder toward Bethlehem.
At the heart of these preparatory Sundays shines the Announcement to Mary, celebrated on the second Sunday of the Season of Announcements. On this day, our liturgy recalls how the Archangel Gabriel was sent to a pure young woman in Nazareth to reveal God’s astonishing plan. In fact, this feast encapsulates two inseparable wonders of salvation: the incarnation of the Divine Word and the divine motherhood of Mary. In earlier centuries, some Syriac traditions even gave the Annunciation feast different names depending on which aspect was emphasized – Christ’s conception or Mary’s exalted role. Over time, as the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas) came to highlight the Incarnation of the Son of God, the Annunciation took on a more explicitly Marian character, honoring the one who made that incarnation possible. Thus, at the dawn of the liturgical year, we recognize both the condescension of God – the Word entering our world as a tiny embryo – and the elevation of humanity in Mary – a simple maiden called to be Mother of God.
It is noteworthy that the Maronite Church, while rooted in the ancient Syriac custom of celebrating the Annunciation within Advent, also joins the universal Church in observing the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25. This date, nine months before Christmas, became fixed in the Western church by the 5th century and was eventually adopted by Maronites as well. In the Latin (Roman) tradition, March 25 is a Solemnity often falling within Lent; it focuses on the singular moment of the Incarnation as a springtime feast of hope in the midst of penitence. By contrast, our Maronite tradition gives the Annunciation an additional context – we celebrate it again in Advent, linking it organically to the whole tapestry of preparatory events. Far from conflicting, these approaches complement each other. The Latin Church’s dating highlights the precise chronological fulfillment of God’s promise (and indeed many medieval Christians honored March 25 as the day creation began anew), while the Maronite practice embeds the Annunciation in a season of joyful expectation, weaving Mary’s story into the very fabric of our journey toward Christmas. In both East and West, however, the core mystery is the same: “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14) by the free cooperation of the Virgin, and nothing in history would ever be the same.
The Season of Announcements: An Eastern Advent Path
What does it mean that Advent, for Maronites, begins with a burst of angelic greetings? It means that our preparation for Christmas is not only about waiting but about receiving and believing God’s promises here and now. Each announcement story is a lesson in faith. We see aged Zechariah, stunned into silence because he doubted the angel’s message of a son; and then we see Mary, who, though initially troubled and awed, ultimately responds with courageous trust. “Each week of announcements reveals to us how God plans all things according to his divine will, completely independent of our own limitations or expectations,” as one Maronite reflection explains. The pattern is clear: God sends forth his word, and human hearts either resist in fear or open in faith.
In this progression, the Announcement to Mary shines as the supreme example of a heart open to grace. Gabriel’s greeting, “Peace be unto you… the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women”, had echoed through prophecy and longing (Luke 1:28). Many devout souls of the Old Covenant had prayed for the Messiah’s coming, but in Mary that hope finds a home. The Maronite liturgy compares her response with Zechariah’s: one needed the temple’s altar of incense to encounter the angel, yet faltered; the other encountered heaven’s messenger in the simplicity of her home and believed. As one ancient Syriac hymn imagines Gabriel saying to Mary: “I have left Him above, but found Him with thee. He whom you are bearing, Who bears the whole creation!”. In other words, God’s presence that once shook Mt. Sinai or filled the Holy of Holies now gently descends into the living temple of Mary’s womb, all because she was ready to welcome Him.
This Syriac Advent teaches us that miracles abound when God’s word is received in faith. Indeed, the Maronite season of Suboro (Announcements) is described as “full of miracles – not symbolic but actual miracles, where God sends forth the powers of heaven to work his wonders on earth.” Every Sunday from the Announcement to Zechariah onward, the impossible becomes possible – a barren couple conceives the Forerunner, a virgin conceives the Son of God, an elderly Elizabeth feels her child leap for joy, a righteous Joseph overcomes fear through a dream, and ultimately a Savior is born of a Virgin Mother. In this way, our preparation for the Lord’s Nativity is an unfolding revelation of God’s tender omnipotence. We are invited to share Mary’s expectant faith each step of the way. Rather than merely counting down days, we Maronites walk in the footsteps of those biblical figures, learning from their encounters. By the time Christmas arrives, our hearts have been schooled by the humility of Zechariah, the joy of Elizabeth, the guardianship of Joseph, and above all the fiat of Mary.
It’s worth noting that other Eastern Churches likewise hold the Annunciation in utmost reverence. In the Byzantine tradition, March 25 is one of the Great Feasts, called Evangelismos, and it is so important that it is celebrated even if it coincides with the somber days of Holy Week. The Syriac Orthodox Church goes so far as to require the Holy Qurbono (Divine Liturgy) on Annunciation Day even if it falls on Good Friday – a day when normally no liturgy is allowed. Such is their conviction that nothing should impede the celebration of this mystery of life in the midst of death. East Syriac Christians (such as the Chaldean and Syro-Malabar Churches) similarly begin their liturgical year with an Annunciation period equating to Advent. All these traditions echo a common truth: the Annunciation is not an isolated incident but the very wellspring of the Incarnation, deserving pride of place. Whether in November with the Maronites or in March with the wider Church, whether in a cathedral or a village chapel in the Lebanese mountains, the good news of Gabriel to Mary rings out as “the feast of all feasts” in anticipation of Christ’s birth.
The Poetry and Prayer of the Annunciation Liturgy
One of the treasures of the Maronite spirituality is its poetic liturgy – our prayers and hymns often rhyme in Syriac or Arabic, full of biblical imagery and theological depth. On the Feast of the Announcement to Mary, the liturgical texts become a tapestry of praise to the Mother and the Mystery she bears. In the sedro (prayer of incense) for this day, the priest prays in awe: “Glory to you, O Exalted One, for you chose to live among us. You are the power who dwelt in the pure Virgin Mary and appeared from her as God Incarnate. Today we cry out, proclaiming: Blessed are you, O Mary, because the Son of God has chosen you as his mother! Blessed are you, O Mary, because through you Adam has been freed! Blessed are you, O Mary, because you are the glory of nations and the pride of all generations!”. These liturgical acclamations beautifully connect Mary to the whole sweep of salvation: Eve’s disobedience brought the fall, but Mary’s obedience brings liberation for Adam’s offspring. She is hailed not for her own sake alone, but as the one through whom all humanity is uplifted – truly the pride of all generations.
In the hymns (qolo) for the feast, the Church’s poetry soars even higher. One refrain chanted by the congregation proclaims: “Christ will dawn from your pure womb, O Mary. Adam’s children He will save”. Another verse calls on ancient prophecy to rejoice: “Come, Isaiah, rejoice with us! For your words now have been fulfilled – a virgin shall conceive and Emmanuel be born… Hear the Church and her children sing with joy, for today a messenger sent from the Father’s house brings the Virgin joyful news”. In these chants, the whole universe is invited to exult: prophets and patriarchs, Church and choir, all join the Virgin in praising God’s faithfulness. We sense that not only Christmas Day, but every day of this season is a little Christmas; each announcement is a foretaste of the Incarnation. The emphasis is relentlessly positive and hopeful – a tone of “gentle luminosity” truly pervades. Even the melody of the Syriac heritage is often lilting and mysterious, drawing the faithful into contemplation. It is as if the liturgy itself stands amazed at what God has done: “Hear, O peoples, and be astounded,” the Church sings, “for the angel has brought us the gospel of salvation!”
Eastern Christianity has long expressed theology in the language of poetry, and this feast is no exception. We recall the hymn from the Syriac Office of Annunciation where Gabriel greets Mary not only with the words recorded in Scripture but with a line of holy astonishment: “Shlomo lek (Peace to you), Mary… I left him on high and found him here with you; He who carries the world, you now carry in your womb.” In a few words, this hymn captures the paradox of the Incarnation that so delighted the Syriac poets: the God whom the heavens cannot contain now dwells within a human body, within the slender frame of this village girl. Such images abound in the writings of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, a fourth-century deacon whose madrashé (hymns) on the Nativity and Virgin Mother are cherished in our tradition. Ephrem’s verses often take the form of dramatic dialogues or bold paradoxes to convey the mystery. For instance, he imagines Mary cradling her newborn and marveling: “The King before whom the angels of fire and spirit tremble lies in the bosom of a girl, and she cuddles Him as a baby. The heaven is the throne for His glory, yet He sits on Mary’s knee; the earth too is His footstool, yet like a baby He crawls beside her.”. In another hymn, Ephrem gives Mary a voice to sing of the miracle within her: “The Babe that I carry, carries me, saith Mary; He has lowered His wings and taken me up, and now He holds the world, and behold, He also holds me.”.
Through such poetic theology, our liturgy and patristic tradition emphasize that the Annunciation is, in truth, the beginning of our Redemption. It is “the beginning of salvation”, as some Church Fathers taught, intimately linked to the Paschal mystery. (The early Christians noted that March 25 often coincided with Holy Week, seeing a providential connection between the conception of Christ and His saving death.) Maronite hymns similarly link Bethlehem and Calvary, the manger and the Cross. In Mary’s womb, Jesus takes on our human nature – a nature capable of suffering and dying – so that even as a tiny embryo “unseen by the world,” He is already the Lamb being prepared for sacrifice. One liturgical prayer poignantly addresses Mary as the new ark bearing the divine fire: “Blessed are you, O Mary… today you have become the altar and the ark, for within your bosom burns the Fire of the Godhead that will consume the thorns of sin.” The imagery of fire in the bush, of coal on Isaiah’s lips, all find fulfillment in the gentle flame of Divinity that ignites within Mary’s heart and flesh.
“Be it Done unto Me”: Mary’s Yes and Our Yes
At the center of this feast stands a simple response of a human being to God: Mary’s fiat, her “Yes” to the divine proposal. All of heaven awaited her answer; in that moment of freedom and faith, salvation history hung in the balance. Mary’s words – “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) – were spoken in humility and courage. Far from being a passive submission, Mary’s yes was an active cooperation with God’s will, “a willing, free, and active participation in the unfolding of God’s will in history.” The Maronite tradition consistently upholds that Mary consented on behalf of all humanity. As one commentary notes, “In the name of all humanity, Mary consented to be the instrument through which salvation was to be brought into the world”. This is why we lovingly call her the New Eve – for as the first Eve used her freedom to usher in sin and death, the new Eve used hers to welcome grace and life. “Mary’s resounding yes acted as a counterpoint to Eve’s initial no, and it paved the way for Christ to overturn the consequences of Adam’s fall,” as one meditation beautifully puts it. In Mary, the long night of humanity’s waiting finds its dawn; in her consenting faith, God and man are reconciled in an unimaginable union.
Saint Jacob of Sarug, a great Syriac poet of the 5th–6th century, emphasizes that it was Mary’s profound humility that drew down the divine Word. He picturing God saying, “On whom will I gaze except the gentle and humble?” and he notes that God “looked on her lowliness and dwelt in her, because it is easy for Him to dwell within the humble.”. For “none on earth was brought low like Mary, and from this it is manifest that no one was exalted like her,” Jacob writes. Here lies a crucial spiritual lesson: true greatness is found in humility. Mary did not seek to make herself notable; she even wondered at the angel’s greeting, conscious of her low estate. Yet precisely because she emptied herself of pride, God filled her with His presence. In her own Magnificat, Mary sang the same truth: “He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant… He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Luke 1:48,52). Every Maronite heart resonates with this, for our tradition loves to honor Mary in her humility. We see her as the icon of the anasimeero – the poor, humble ones of spirit whom God never fails. In Lebanon’s mountain villages, in the ancient monasteries and hermitages, Mary’s name is invoked as al-’Adhra, the Virgin who is also the Mother ever-close to the lowly. Our beloved Saint Charbel, for instance, was deeply devoted to the Virgin; he, a humble monk who became a channel of miracles, surely learned from Mary that surrender to God’s will unleashes divine power.
Mary’s fiat is also an act of radical trust and love. She did not know all the answers – “How can this be…?” she asked sincerely – yet she trusted that “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:34,37). She entrusted not only her body but her whole life into God’s hands at that moment, not foreseeing all the swords of sorrow that would pierce her heart, but believing that God’s word to her would be fulfilled. In this, Mary becomes the model disciple, the first and truest believer in Christ. Pope Saint John Paul II once reflected that in her fiat, Mary “showed herself the true daughter of Abraham” – for just as Abraham believed and set out into the unknown, so Mary believed and opened herself completely to God’s journey. Her yes was uttered in the freedom of love, not under compulsion or blind fate. As one of our Maronite reflections notes, “Mary’s response can be understood as an act of trust and freedom – true freedom is found in saying yes to God’s will, even when it leads into unknown terrain”. In other words, Mary’s yes was the freest act in history, because in that yes she aligned her will perfectly with God’s perfect will.
What are the spiritual implications for us? Simply put, Mary’s yes invites our yes. Each of us, in our own life, hears the gentle knock of God’s angel at the door of our heart. God proposes some mission, some trust, some letting-go or some act of love – and we often feel afraid or unworthy. How do we respond? The Feast of the Announcement is a yearly reminder that God does not force His way into our world; He seeks consent and cooperation. He waited for Mary’s assent, and He waits for ours. When we imitate Mary – her attentiveness to God’s word, her pondering heart, her courage to say “Let it be done” – then Christ is conceived mystically in us as well. The Maronite prayers encourage us to take Mary as a personal model: “Mary stands as the epitome of true faith and obedience, embodying the path every believer should traverse with trust, willingness, humility…”. We are challenged to echo her surrender: “Do we mirror Mary’s example in our lives?”.
In practical terms, this might mean embracing God’s will in situations we do not understand, or responding to a difficult calling with faith that “nothing is impossible for God”. It might mean simply trusting day by day that our Lord is with us, as He was with Mary, and thus rejecting the paralysis of fear. Mary’s yes had world-changing consequences, yet it was uttered in the obscurity of a poor home, heard only by God and an angel. This tells us that even our hidden yes to God – known perhaps to God alone – can bear tremendous fruit for the world. Every saint, every holy Maronite hermit or missionary or martyr, began their journey with a humble yes in imitation of the Virgin. Indeed, we can say that all of Saint Charbel’s miracles and all the graces that flow from the saints are, in a sense, ripples from that first yes of Mary. She opened the door and Christ came in; and once He came, light and healing flooded the world.
East and West in Praise of the Incarnation
While the focus of our reflection has been the Maronite and Syriac perspective, it is enriching to remember that the Feast of the Annunciation (or Announcement) is beloved across Christendom. In the Latin West, where it is kept on March 25, pious tradition once called it “Lady Day” and even used it as the start of the new civil year in some medieval calendars – symbolizing that human history truly restarted when Mary agreed to be the Mother of God. Western Christians sing with equal tenderness Gabriel’s greeting in their Angelus devotion: “The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit… Be it done unto me according to thy word.” There is a profound complementarity between the Latin and Maronite celebrations. The Latin liturgy, often amidst Lenten tones, highlights the faith aspect of Mary and the impending sacrificial role of the Child she conceives – it connects the crib and the cross. The Maronite liturgy, placed in the Christmas cycle, highlights the joyous fulfillment of prophecies and the immediate preparation for Christ’s birth. Where the Latin Church sometimes transfers the feast if it conflicts with Holy Week (so as not to diminish either solemnity), the Eastern mindset prefers to celebrate both mysteries together, even envisioning Mary standing at the foot of the Cross on a Good Friday that was also March 25, contemplating the paradox that the Son she conceived is giving His life on the same date – a circle of redemption completed. Different emphases, yet one faith: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”
Other Eastern rites also add their beautiful nuances. For Byzantine Orthodox, if the Annunciation coincides with Pascha (Easter), the day is termed Kyriopascha, and the liturgical texts explode with joy that “today is both the day of the Incarnation and the Resurrection”, as if to say that in God’s plan the beginning and the end of Christ’s mission are one radiant mystery. In the Armenian tradition, the Annunciation is called Avedoom (Good Tidings) and is celebrated with festal hymns that likewise honor Mary as Asdvadzamayr, Mother of God. East or West, Syriac or Greek or Latin, all Christians meet at this hinge of history with wonder and gratitude. The differences in date and emphasis are like different facets of a gem, catching the light differently but revealing the same priceless jewel: Jesus Christ, the Emmanuel, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. As Sebastian Brock, a scholar of Syriac Christianity, wrote, “Through her ear, Mary receives the Word; through her humility, she gives us God”. This is a truth that transcends any one culture – it is the shared joy of the universal Church.
Conclusion: Invite the Word In
Kneeling in spirit beside Mary on her feast, we are invited to make her faith our own. The Feast of the Announcement to Mary is not only a theological event to celebrate, but a living mystery to contemplate in our hearts. In the Maronite tradition, we conclude the Divine Liturgy of this feast with prayers that we too may conceive Christ spiritually and bear Him forth into the world through our deeds. We ask for the grace that the same Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary would overshadow us, that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. Each of us can become, in a small yet real way, a bearer of God’s love to those around us – but only if we first, like Mary, welcome Jesus within.
In this gentle season of Announcements, let us carve out some silence each day to listen for God’s voice. Perhaps we can echo the fiat of Mary in our daily prayer, simply repeating, “Lord, let it be to me according to your word.” Such a prayer, said with sincerity, can open even the most anxious heart to God’s calming light. As one Maronite meditation advises: “In dry times of prayer, a sentence like that can occupy mind and heart and raise us close to God”. We might also thank Our Lady in our own words for her courage and ask her to accompany us as we strive to obey God’s will: “O Mary, thank you for your unwavering yes; help me to say my yes to the Lord today.” The Mother who once gave Jesus to the world is eager to help us give Jesus room in our lives.
Finally, we return to that icon of the Annunciation with which we began. Mary stands with one hand on her heart and the other open, poised between earth and heaven. The Archangel extends his hand in blessing, and the Holy Spirit, depicted as a dove of light, descends toward her. In Syriac script above, the title reads “Suboro” – Announcement. In this holy image we see more than an ancient event; we see a living invitation. The same God who sent Gabriel to Mary now sends His messengers (be they Scriptures, inspirations, or people around us) to announce good news to us. The same Lord who desired to take flesh in her desires to live in us by grace. The mystery of the Annunciation continues in the life of the Church and in each soul. Will we, like Mary, open the door and say yes? The Feast of the Announcement to Mary assures us that if we do, Christ’s light will spring forth within us, gentle and bright as the morning sun over the cedars of Lebanon. In this luminous season, may our souls magnify the Lord and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior, as together with Mary we welcome the Word who longs to announce Himself in our hearts.