L'Annonciation by Phillipe Champaigne, 1644

When Easter falls in such a way that March 25th, the usual date of the Annunciation, is in Holy Week, the Easter Triduum, or the Octave of Easter, the Annunciation is moved to the Monday after the Octave of Easter.

No feast, even the Solemnity of Our Lord’s Incarnation, can override the great Liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. Such it is this year, making today, April 8, the feast of Annunciation. The calendar shift places the feast of Christ’s Incarnation in the womb of His Mother in the context of the bright light of Easter Victory instead of the soft glow of Lenten anticipation. The antiphons for Lauds and Vespers add the Alleluia. Mary’s shrine in our chapel is decked with lilies. And our hearts embrace the two ‘bookend’ mysteries of our Lord’s life, uniting them in one joyful celebration. For Annunciation and Easter are the the beginning and the fulfillment of Jesus’ redemptive mission on earth. At the Annunciation, Mary made her first act of faith in Christ her Son, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). At Easter, she saw that faith fulfilled in His Resurrection and triumph over sin and death.

Annunciation is a particularly special feast day for our Sisters. We take this day as our patronal feast, the day which we celebrate our Mother’s care and protection for our community. Please pray for us and know of our prayers for you!

“May Mary's journey also be ours. May his joy also be ours. And as she, joyful for the resurrection of her Son, is the source of our joy, causa nostrae laetitiae, so let us commit ourselves to be Mary's joy, letting Christ the Redeemer mold supernatural life in us, until the eternal joy of [the] Blessed homeland. With her, Queen of Heaven.”
— St. John Paul II, 1983

“May she [Mary], who at the announcement of the angel welcomed Jesus, the ‘Gospel of life,’ into her womb and was filled with exultation at the moment of his resurrection, obtain for us to be witnesses of the Risen Christ in the world, messengers of his joy, communicators of his love.”

— St. John Paul II, Regina Caeli, Easter Monday 1995