March 25: Day by Day with Father Bill
SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
In the Kitchen by Fr Kilian McDonnell, OSB
Giotto* got it wrong.
I was not kneeling
on my red satin cushion
in a shaft of light,
head slightly bent.
Actually I had just
come back from the well.
Placing the pitcher
on the table I bumped
against the edge
spilling water on the floor.
As I bent to wipe it up
suddenly a glow
as though someone had opened the door
in the sun.
Rag in hand,
hair across my face,
I turned to see
who was coming in
uninvited, unannounced.
All I saw was light bright
against the wall. A voice.
You will conceive
the Son of the Most High
who will save Israel.
I stood afraid.
Someone closed the door
and I dropped the rag.
*Giotto was a 14th-century Italian painter.