Mary lived in Nazareth, a young girl of perhaps 13 or 14 years old. She was betrothed to Joseph, a young man from Bethlehem working in the building trades, perhaps at Sepphoris, a town being newly rebuilt by Herod Antipas, just a few miles away. They looked forward to a wonderful life together.
And then the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary with a remarkable—and very frightening—offer: to become the virgin-mother of the Son of God.
This is an incredibly dramatic story, and Dr. C. tells it as only he can, on site at the Church of the Annunciation.
