Great joy among the faithful of our Annunciation Parish in Olmsted Township, OH with the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation, our church's feast day, the coming into the world of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ of the Virgin Mary, a spiritual joy felt by each of us that "today is the beginning of our salvation."
This wonderful feast brought again this year in our midst His Eminence Nicolae, our Archbishop and Metropolitan in America, thus completing the beauty of this feast in our parish.
Our celebration began on the evening of Friday, March 24th, with the service of the Holy Unction together with Fr. Dean Călin Barbolovici and the worthy Fr. Ion Gherman, followed on Saturday, March 25th, by the Hierarchical Liturgy and a sermon offered by His Eminence:
"How will this be since I don't know a man?" asks the Holy Virgin. And the Archangel continues the annunciation by revealing to her the hidden mystery of man's salvation: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called Son of God" (Luke 1:35). As one who had studied Holy Scriptures, the Virgin Mary knew that the descent of the Spirit upon a person, as now proclaimed, signifies a special choice and a mention of a mission. And the overshadowing of God's power referred to the revelation of God's will and work... The Virgin did not understand how she could give birth to the Son, the Virgin did not understand how she could give birth to the Son of God, but she understood that this was the calling and the mission for which she had prepared herself, even if it was beyond human understanding, even if it was beyond the power of a human being to comprehend. That is why he responded with the words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
At the end of the Liturgy, the founders and benefactors of our church were commemorated. The agape meal concluded this day of celebration.
We thank the Good Lord for allowing us such a hopeful feast through the care of the Heavenly Father who sends his Son to save the humanity in trial in our days, then we thank His Eminence for showing his love as a loving father of his flock every time. We thank all our parishioners for their efforts to make this feast pleasing to God and the Mother of God!
Praises be to God for everything!
Fr. Petru Neaga, Olmsted Township, OH,
March 25th, 2023
