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.

Today we commemorate St. Simon of Trent, Martyr. Murdered by Jews in Trent (now Trento in northern Italy), St. Simon was not quite three years old when he died. Jews in the city of Trent kidnapped and murdered St. Simon via exsanguination as part of their religious rituals connected to the Jewish Passover. His body was discovered by a Christian servant who reported the matter to the local authorities. Subsequent to a papal investigation, fifteen Jews were sentenced to death and burned at the stake for the murder. St. Simon serves as a reminder that God’s children will always be hated and attacked by those who have rejected God and serve another master.