Today, we celebrate the Annunciation of the Lord. One of the greatest joys in the life of the Church celebrated in the midst of her most solemn season. It seems such a paradox at first thought. Yet, the Annunciation enlightens us to the deeper and truer meaning of lent.

At the beginning of lent, we were reminded, "For dust you are and to dust you shall retum."(Gn 3:19) This was the consequence of Adam's disobedience.

It was Eve's "YES" to the anti-Word of God spoken by the most cunning and subtle of all God's creatures, the devil and satan, that sin and death were conceived and born into the world. Thanks be to God's faithful love, we were not lost to despair, but in the fullness of time God sent His only Son, that all who believe in Him might not die but have eternal life. The Son of God came into the world not as the result of sin, but was conceived through loving obedience to the Word of God; through the "YES" of the handmaid of the Lord.

Take a moment to view the Garden of Paradise. In particular, gaze upon two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree in the Center of the Garden. God, through the gift of free will, allows us to grow our own garden, and eat the fruit of the trees growing there. The greatest of all the trees is the one we place in the center of our gardens. We choose, either the Tree of Life by placing God at the center of our lives, or the Tree of Death by placing self at the center.

The choice is quite simple. It has always been simple. It is perplexing. How can we take something so simple and make it so complicated?

We have the choice of growing an orchard of trees sown from the seeds of obedience, or to live in a forest of trees grown from the seeds of disobedience. How many times have you heard the old saying, the more things change, the more they stay the same? People are still eating apples. Still desiring to be like gods instead of sons and daughters of the one true God.

Let us learn from these two creatures of God. The choices they faced then, are the same choices we face today. Either, we choose like Mary who is little, simple, and poor, who with deep faith, great love, and purity of heart, sought in humble obedience to the word of God to do the Will of God; or, as Eve seek to become a god and through pride, egoism, selfishness, and vain desire, seek not the Love or the Will of God, but the fulfillment of our vain ambitions, interest, and desires.

What trees are in your garden? What fruit do you desire? What fruit is your present life producing? What are you presently feeding upon? With Mary, let us give our "YES" to God and live this "YES" everyday; lest we be found naked of love, virtue, and grace, and clothed in sin in the presence of God. Let us prepare ourselves now for Christ coming. May He find our souls clothed in the purity of their baptismal beauty.