The philanthropic and merciful God, who always cares for the human race, seeing as a loving Father His creation being enslaved and tormented by the devil, serving its passions and being in the darkness of idolatry, wished to send His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem man from the hands of the devil.
He therefore sends the archangel Gabriel to the city of Nazareth, to the Virgin Mary, whom He had "cleansed by the Holy Spirit," and says to her: "Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women." To her reasonable inquiry about this greeting, the archangel replies: Do not be afraid, Mary, for with the grace that God has given you, you will conceive and bear a Son, whom you will name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High... To the natural question of how this will happen, Gabriel answers: The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of God will overshadow you, because nothing is impossible for Him.
And Mary said: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word." Thus, the Virgin Mary "conceived" the incarnate Son and Word of God, and nine months later gave birth to Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
As Saint Nicholas Cabasilas writes, "The Incarnation was not only the work of the Father, the Almighty, and His Spirit..., but it was also the work of the will and faith of the Virgin... Just as God willingly took on flesh, in the same way, His Mother desired to give birth to Him willingly, with her full consent." This greatest event for our salvation is celebrated in the sacred services of the feast of the Annunciation.
