Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today is the Feast of the Annuncation, the day on which the Church traditionally celebrates the Angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would be the Mother of Jesus.

This is a special day, for like the Mother of God herself, it encapsulates so many important and wonderful aspects of our faith: the reality of God becoming incarnate, Jesus' divinity - resulting in Mary's traditional name 'Mother of God', the breaking in of God's renewal of creation, the arrival of salvation, the reversal of Eve's 'no' with Mary's 'yes', Mary's exemplary receptivity and obedience.

Today, in honor of this occasion, and because of the exceptional times we are living through now, I want to share a Marian antiphon, the Salve Regina, in a very special setting by Arvo Pärt. This music manages to capture a great affection for Mary, along with supplicative aspect that powerfully encapsulates the current malaise, as well as the 'bright sadness' of our Lenten journey. The climax 3/4 of the way through is one of the most poignant bits of music you will ever hear.

Yours in Christ,
Justin

(If you can access Spotify, I highly recommend listening to this recording! If you can't, try this video as a lower-quality alternative.)

Mother of mercy, hail, O gentle Queen!
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope, all hail!
Children of Eve,
To thee we cry from our sad banishment;
To thee we send our sighs,
Weeping and mourning in this tearful vale.
Come, then, our Advocate;
Oh, turn on us those pitying eyes of thine:
And our long exile past,
Shew us at last
Jesus, of thy pure womb the fruit divine.
O Virgin Mary, mother blest!
O sweetest, gentlest, holiest!

Trans. by Edward Caswall