This is the day when we bring all that we have and all that we are. Yes, this is another first day. And, as we formalize this relationship or perhaps better said deepen this relationship, I offer that this is another incarnational moment in our history together. The “yes” we have said and say again today is steeped in our yes to birth the Christ again in another way; in this time; with the focus of enduring mission. This is an Annunciation moment.
And when I think of the original Annunciation, I am always drawn to the depiction of that event by the African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner who lived from 1859 to 1937 and lived most of his career in Paris to escape the racism in the US. This is my favorite depiction of the Annunciation, with apologies to our brother Fra Angelico. Before painting the Annunciation, Tanner traveled to the Middle East to absorb the context and the look of the people. In this portrayal from skin tone to dress, Mary is a poor Jewish girl. The room reflects her humble status. I love that the bed is unmade and the rug a bit rumpled. There are few possessions and even the stone floor is a bit cracked. Less than perfection. And Gabriel is a ray of light not a being with multicolored wings. And in this scene, this young Jewish girl looks puzzled yet attentive as she responds to the invitation from the light, from the messenger. The incarnation occurs in the ordinariness of the day.
And so it is for us. In the ordinary events of our day, whether sitting at the side of the bed receiving care, or offering ESL classes, or administering a diocesan office, or teaching a class of high schoolers, or running a food pantry, or counseling in a hospital, or offering spiritual direction or, or, or. In the ordinariness of our days, we incarnate the Christ where we live our mission through the ministry we offer. And this structure we initiate today merely, or maybe profoundly, will allow that mission in ministry to continue beyond what was thought to be its life cycle. That is what this structure is meant to do. It is a structure for the sake of mission. It is a structure to deepen collaboration for mission. It is meant to allow our ordinary days of incarnation to continue to flourish.
And we acknowledge that this day of June 14 is not as ordinary as most days. Today, hundreds of thousands of Americans are in the streets: in parks, on street corners, in parking lots etc. to protest the kingly posture of the President of the United States as he throws himself a 45-million-dollar parade while pretending it is to honor the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army by George Washington. An army founded to fight for freedom from a King and the tyranny of his actions. There are other ways to commemorate the service of the US military.
Through our lenses of truth and justice, we can uplift the needs of our veterans who live unhoused. And we can call for more mental health for our vets suffering from PTSD and for the one out of every ten vets who requires medical attention for injuries sustained in service. And bring attention to the underfunded VA’s whose budget is to be cut by about 16%. In an ordinary day, our soldiers face suffering. Let us pause in contemplative silence to join in solidarity with those protesting and let us do what we can to advocate for all the unhoused, mentally ill and injured in this country.
Ordinary days like this one need mission-focused lives to bear witness to how the Christ needs to be incarnated again and again. This is our call to a “yes,” our individual call in our congregational identity and now together let us move this Association forward with the lenses of our mission: living lives of service, prayer, study, and community; focused on the transforming power of hope; united in our quest for the unfolding revelation of God; ministering for justice and with a reverence for all creation; bringing the reign of God to fulfillment. All this in the ordinariness of each day.
And as Leo our Pope invites us: “Let us be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ!”
This is our Annunciation Yes! Our Incarnational moment.
What an inspirational and motivational message, Cathy. Dominic, Catherine and the endless number of Dominicans who have gone before us must be proud to see us keeping the TORCH OF TRUTH alive!
Many thanks Catherine, for reminding us of so much brokenness in our world but also giving us signs of hope in continuing to say yes, as Mary did. What a privilege it is to work together towards making this a better world,
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful and deeply reflective meditation. It struck me how you’ve woven together the sacred and the ordinary, the personal and the collective. This Annunciation moment you’ve described—where the incarnation happens in the ordinary spaces of our lives—really resonates. It’s not just about the grand gestures or the “perfect” moments, but about showing up in the messiness of life and allowing the divine to break through in the smallest of ways.
I particularly loved your reflection on Henry Ossawa Tanner’s depiction of the Annunciation. His focus on Mary as a young, poor, Jewish girl, receiving the divine call in the midst of a humble, imperfect environment, is so powerful. It speaks to how we, too, are often called in the midst of our mess, our confusion, or our struggles. There’s a kind of raw beauty in that, as if the divine doesn’t demand perfection, but only a willing heart—just as Mary responded with that profound, “Yes.”