March Gladness

By Fr. Matthew Eickhoff Director,

Office for Evangelization Chairman,

Diocesan Evangelization Committee

Don’t get mad. Get GLAD!

Leaving aside brand preferences for trash bags, this slogan from an old commercial serves as a useful bridge from our previous reflection of a couple weeks ago regarding the madness surrounding the men’s college basketball field that continues to narrow as the month wears on.

We know that, ultimately, only one team avoids the sadness of defeat altogether and takes home a much-coveted title: NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion! The resultant March Gladness is restricted to the winner, and is temporary at best. But we Catholics have our own source for a similarly seasonal celebration, one that annually commemorates an event of 2,000-plus years ago.

Every March 25, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation (transferred this year, by way of exception, to March 26). It is no coincidence that this feast day falls exactly nine months before we celebrate Christ’s birth on Christmas. Mary’s openness to the message sent to her by God through the angel Gabriel led ultimately to the birth of Jesus, which was a necessary precursor to the many events of a holy life that gained for us the gift of salvation. Now that is good news, and certainly a cause for gladness!

When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, her elation at being pregnant with Jesus was evidenced by her words: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior" (Lk 1:46-47). This spiritual euphoria is what every true Christian should experience when contemplating all the great things God has done, not just for Mary, but for each of us as well.

The event of the Annunciation is a climactic point of fulfillment of the most important Old Testament prophecy—namely, that God would send a savior into the world. While we all realize that there is more to the story, this is where the mystery of the Incarnation (God becoming man) began: at Nazareth, in Mary’s womb.

As we recite the Nicene Creed at Mass, we are directed to bow during these words about the Second Person of the Divine Trinity: "…and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man." When celebrating the Annunciation, as on Christmas, our usual bow is replaced with a genuflection, which slows us down during this crucial phrase to accentuate its significance for us. Yes, God really did humble Himself to the highest degree in order to save us from our sins and provide for us the possibility of entering heaven. Aren’t we glad He did? We are indeed, and our gladness is demonstrated in part by our posture of humility when we bend our knee before the Lord God as we profess and proclaim the doctrine of the Incarnation in the Creed.

And so, for us, the March Gladness that follows upon March Madness is not at all restricted. In fact, it must not be so! Our entire faith is grounded in the mystery of the Incarnation. Our joy should be as evident as that of Mary. Our souls internally should proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and our lives externally should rejoice and announce God as our Savior. Such is not the exclusive domain of Jehovah’s Witnesses or Evangelical Christians. It is—it must be—the very source of every Christian’s joy. Christ died and rose for us, and we are glad indeed! Let us not be afraid to show it.