Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she had found favor with the Lord and would bear a son. The same Spirit that hovered over the water back in Genesis would “come upon” and “overshadow” Mary, and conceive in her virgin womb Christ, our Lord and Savior. The Ancient Church believed the crucifixion took place on the 25th, and so we celebrate the Annunciation on the same day, as the day of one’s conception and the day of one’s death were linked in antiquity.