March 25: The Annunciation of Our Lord

"The Annunciation of Our Lord"
Written by the Venerable Calhoun Walpole, Archdeacon for the Diocese of South Carolina


​Archdeacon Walpole reads this meditation in the video to the right. A written version of this meditation is below.

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Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.
 
Never before has the Feast of the Annunciation seemed more poignant—the proclamation of the incarnation by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary—the very Word of God, becoming flesh and dwelling among us—the Light shining through the darkness—yet, amidst the backdrop of the cross.
 
This past weekend, The Very Reverend Dr. Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury, was to have led a Diocesan Lenten Quiet Day on Saturday for us in the Diocese of South Carolina. On Sunday, he was slated to preach at Grace Church Cathedral; but the Coronavirus pandemic kept him in Canterbury. Dean Willis is a writer of hymns, as is our own Dean Michael Wright. Below is one of Dean Willis’s hymns, fitting for our current day, “Let Us Light a Candle”—as well as a link to a recording of the hymn from Canterbury Cathedral. 
 
Peace and blessings to you,
Callie 
 
"Let Us Light a Candle" (click for video)
In a world where people walk in darkness 
Let us turn our faces to the light, 
To the light of God revealed in Jesus, 
To the Daystar scattering our night. 
For the light is stronger than the darkness 
And the day will overcome the night. 
Though the shadows linger all around us, 
Let us turn our faces to the light. 

In a world where suff'ring of the helpless 
Casts a shadow all along the way, 
Let us bear the Cross of Christ with gladness 
And proclaim the dawning of the day. 
For the light is stronger than the darkness 
And the day will overcome the night. 
Though the shadows linger all around us, 
Let us turn our faces to the light. 

Let us light a candle in the darkness, 
In the face of death, a sign of life. 
As a sign of hope where all seems hopeless, 
As a sign of peace in place of strife. 
For the light is stronger than the darkness 
And the day will over come the night. 
Though the shadows linger all around us, 
Let us turn our faces to the light.
 
-Robert Willis              Tune: Richard Shephard
 
(See Hymn 476 in Common Praise)