The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary- 8^th September.

It all began with an angel, good news always does! Angels show up rarely but when they do, it’s breaking news. Ask Abraham or Lot or the shepherds in the field or for that matter Joseph, to whom an angel appeared in his dreams.

Gabriel must have been a special angel, for he brings the news of a birth to both, Zacharias, telling him of the coming birth of St. John the Baptist and then to Mary, telling her of the birth of her own son. The annunciation must have shot Gabriel into the spotlight. This is what broadcasters live for; ‘the news story’ of all times and Gabriel could not stop harping that he was picked. Gabriel now had the ‘dream job’ but this one had to be executed in real time. 

Nazareth was a small town in the mountains of Galilee but Gabriel had no difficulty finding this place; especially when you’re fitted with divinely supplied GPS. It is no wonder that Gabriel is recognized as the patron saint of messengers, telecommunication and postal workers.

The house in Nazareth was small and modest made of mortar-and-stone walls, cut into a rocky hillside.  There were just two rooms and a small courtyard in which a rock-hewn cistern collected rainwater. It was this place that Yehoyaqim (Joaquim), Hannah (Anna in Hebrew) and (Miriam) Mary called home.