25 March 2026 (Wednesday) / Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

25 March 2026 (Wednesday)

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Isaiah 7: 10-14; 8: 10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40: 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11
Second Reading: Hebrews 10: 4-10
Verse Before the Gospel: John 1: 14ab
Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38

First Reading: Isaiah 7: 10-14; 8: 10

10 And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying:
11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above.
12 And Achaz said: I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord.
13 And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
8:10 Take counsel together, and it shall be defeated: speak a word, and it shall not be done: because God is with us.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40: 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11

R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
7 Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire; but thou hast pierced ears for me. Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not require:
8a Then said I, Behold I come.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
8 In the head of the book it is written of me
9 That I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
10 I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
11 I have not hid thy justice within my heart: I have declared thy truth and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth from a great council.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Second Reading: Hebrews 10: 4-10
4 For it is impossible that with the blood of oxen and goats sin should be taken away.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not: but a body thou hast fitted to me:
6 Holocausts for sin did not please thee.
7 Then said I: Behold I come: in the head of the book it is written of me: that I should do thy will, O God.
8 In saying before, Sacrifices, and oblations, and holocausts for sin thou wouldest not, neither are they pleasing to thee, which are offered according to the law.
9 Then said I: Behold, I come to do thy will, O God: he taketh away the first, that he may establish that which followeth.
10 In the which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ once.

Verse Before the Gospel: John 1: 14ab
14ab The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us; and we saw his glory.
(14. The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth).

Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38

26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
37 Because no word shall be impossible with God.
38 And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

For our reflection today:

The Annunciation, recounted at the beginning of St Luke's Gospel, is a humble, hidden event - no one saw it, no one except Mary knew of it -, but at the same time it was crucial to the history of humanity. When the Virgin said her "yes" to the Angel's announcement, Jesus was conceived and with him began the new era of history that was to be ratified in Easter as the "new and eternal Covenant". In fact, Mary's "yes" perfectly mirrors that of Christ himself when he entered the world, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, interpreting Psalm 40[39]: "As is written of me in the book, I have come to do your will, O God" (Heb 10: 7). The Son's obedience was reflected in that of the Mother and thus, through the encounter of these two "yeses", God was able to take on a human face. This is why the Annunciation is a Christological feast as well, because it celebrates a central mystery of Christ: the Incarnation. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your Word". Mary's reply to the Angel is extended in the Church, which is called to make Christ present in history, offering her own availability so that God may continue to visit humanity with his mercy. (Benedict XVI - Angelus, 25 March 2007)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God."

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)