Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation which, naturally, is 9 months before Christmas. This is the day when the angel Gabriel offered Mary the chance of a lifetime and she said yes.
Since this was a new feast for us, we had no traditions to revive, but there were plenty of ideas on Jenn's blog to get me started. Maria is sick and we can't make it to Mass, so her suggestion about praying the Angelus was perfect. Charles got to ring the bells, and now everyone wants to pray it daily so they can have a turn.
And a suggestion in a magazine to have blueberry milkshakes for Assumption (this was a few years ago) has since cemented the relationship between Marian feasts and blueberries for me. That author doesn't care for them herself, but I LOVE them. So each of the kids made a blueberry pie which we had with fresh whipped cream after dinner. Heavenly! While we waited for dinner, we all just drooled looking at them on the table near Nana's statue of Mary and Jesus.
Here are two of my reflections on Annunciation day:
--how much less expensive would it be if God would just send an angel to tell me when I am pregnant?
--surely Mary was not looking to having a baby right then, but she said yes, and He was perfect. I want that faith.
6 comments:
I want you to have that faith, too.
Rachel this made me laugh so hard!!! This was such a great zoo conversation that we had too. And I'm flattered that I can mentor you in anything -- you who mentor me in everything else. :)
I should have put in blueberries for our feast day, too. Do you like them out of season?
LOL! Jenn that's hilarious that you posted that... because my dessert with blueberries was totally AFTER blueberry season. It was one of the sources of Rachel's ribbing at the zoo two years ago... and the other ribbing? The fact that blueberries and I are not good friends! Kerplunk, kerplunk, kerplunk would never be an attractive outing for me. However, the rest of my household loves them. For me... they are just not chocolate. And would ruin a perfectly good liturgical celebration. I totally have a hot fudge sundae instead. And I have *never* made a blueberry pie. But I understand that I'm a minority. However, back to my answer to Rachel: "You mean there's a time where the grocery store finds blueberries out of season and doesn't sell them?" LOL!
Maryan, enter me into the minority. I only like in season very fresh blueberries. That's it. And not very much. I've never made a pie, and I hate all the baked goods, blueberry flavored items that are sold in stores. I don't like the smell or taste.
But they are blue. I was looking at one of the Mudpies books and it said to use 2 cups of blueberries to dye eggs a natural blue. Now THAT might be a great use for blueberries that I could tolerate.
You two are killing me! How can you not LOVE blueberries??? How can you not see the photograph of a blueberry milkshake and go yummmmmm and immediately make plans to make it appear on your menu in the very near future? I love blueberry everything, but I did discover that blueberry pie with frozen blueberries is a wash. It turned into blueberry soup in a shell and while that was tasty, it was nothing compared to those from last summer when we picked our own.
I hear there is blue ketchup. Perhaps fish sticks with blue ketchup for you two next year, lol?
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