This window features the moment of the Incarnation, told of in the Gospel of Luke, when "the Word became flesh." The Archangel Gabriel, who had given a Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament {see Daniel 9:24}, now appears to the Virgin Mary in her home at Nazareth to announce the coming of that Messiah. 

The angel (from the Greek angelos - "messenger") holds a scepter, around which is wrapped a banner emblazoned with the words "Ave Maria", Latin for "Hail Mary". It was Gabriel who gave us the first line of the prayer known officially as the Angelic Salutation when he greeted Mary: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women" {Luke 1:28}. The next words of this prayer were given by St. Elizabeth during the Visitation (which is the subject of the next window). 

As Germans, the original parishioners of St. Martins saw great significance in the fact that the word ave was the reverse spelling of Eva, the German version of the name "Eve". Mary, as the New Eve, obediently said "Yes" to God, and thereby reversed the work of the original Eve, who had obeyed Satan. 

When Gabriel told the Virgin, "You shall conceive and bear a Son and give Him the name Jesus" {1:31}, and explained that this would be done through the Holy Spirit, Mary replied, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say" {1:38}. This window depicts this exact moment, when Mary gave her fiat. She bows her head as she humbly accepts God's will. Rays of light stream down from the Holy Spirit, as represented by the dove, onto Mary as the Word takes human flesh in her womb. 

In many artistic representations of the Annunciation, St. Gabriel is shown in a genuflective pose, in reverence to Mary "full of grace" and to the "Fruit of her womb", Jesus. In this window, it is Mary who is kneeling. The craftsmen who made this window envisioned that she was in the act of praying when the angel appeared to her. The kneeler which Mary uses, and the window she is beneath, are designed in the Gothic style. This style, of course, was not developed until 1,000 years after the event depicted here, but artists often used this distinctively Christian architecture in portrayals of the Annunciation to symbolize that this event marked the end of the Jewish age and the beginning of the Christian era. These features are also in harmony with the rest of St. Martin's environment. 

The opened book represents the Scriptures, which Mary must have been very familiar with (as evidenced by her Magnificat, the highly scriptural exultation she would recite during her Visitation with St. Elizabeth). The book of Scriptures is traditionally understood to be opened to Isaiah 7:14, which reads, "The Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and name him Emmanuel." 

In the nearby vase is a lily, a symbol of the Virgin Mary. St. Bede the Venerable {lived: 673-735; feast: May 27} was among the first to associate this graceful flower with Mary. To him, the white petals represented the purity of Mary's body, and the gold anthers represented the glory of her soul. A fleur de lis (a stylized representation of a lily) adorns the side of the vase. Often used as a symbol of Mary, or even of the Holy Trinity, the fleur is also used as a symbol of France. This latter use derives from a legend that an angel presented a lily to Clovis I, a 6th century King of the Franks. Its appearance in the City of Louisville's seal derives from our city's being named for a French King, Louis XVI. 

God had prepared Mary to be the spotless and pure Mother of His Son from the time of her own Immaculate Conception. Yet, having been created to be the vessel to carry our Savior, Mary still had the opportunity to decline the request which God was making to her through Gabriel. She humbly offered herself to Him to use in His mysterious plan. It is her great "Yes" to God that makes her a model for all mankind. 

The Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas. For many centuries, St. Gabriel's feast was kept on the day before the Annunciation. He is now honored on September 29 with the Archangels Raphael and Michael (this day once belonged only to the latter, and was known as Michaelmas). As the great messenger of God, Gabriel is the patron of earthly messengers, such as postal workers and those employed in the telephone, television, radio, and other communications industries. 

Let us pray: 

- Anonymous

- Cornelius Sedulius (5th century) 
             translated by John Ellerton (1826-1893)