When I heard the reading at Mass I was struck once again by the fact that this story of the Incarnation is repeated again and again this week. But as the priest reminded us, the story deserves repeating.

Imagine if you were on death row and the day before the execution you were reprieved, it would be an unbelievably joyous, earth-shattering event. But that is what the Incarnation is for us. The promise of life.