'A Registered Charity in Scotland'
St Andrew's Cathedral known as Inverness Cathedral
Today's Date: Saturday 16th May 2026
Today's Date: Saturday 16th May 2026
The Annunciation depicts the visit and announcement of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God.
This depicts the visit of Mary to her relative Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. During this visit it is said, that despite still in his mother’s womb, John felt the presence of Christ, and leapt for joy as he was cleansed from original sin and filled with divine grace.
Elizabeth also responded to the presence and aura of Jesus. As such the Visitation is viewed as the beginning of Mary exercising her role as mediator between God and mankind for the first time. John would go on to be the one who baptised Jesus.
This depicts the appearance of Angel to a group of shepherds outside Bethlehem to inform of the birth of Jesus.
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
That the message was given to the shepherds rather then the Roman Emperor or King Herod of Judea is considered significant and reflective of Mary’s words that Jesus had
“brought down rulers from there thrones but has lifted up the humble”.
This depicts Mary and Joseph taking 40-day old Jesus to Jerusalem so that Mary could undergo her post-childbirth ritual purification, to perform the “redemption of the first-born” on behalf of Jesus.
The event was significant as it was the first time Jesus was declared the Messiah. This was done by Simeon who promised that “he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”. Upon encountering Jesus, Simeon prophesied the redemption and salvation of the world by Jesus.
The “Redemption of the First-Born”, was a Jewish ritual: Originally the duties of priesthood fell upon the eldest son of each family.
Following the Israelite Exodus from Egypt, after the nation had sinned with the golden calf, the priesthood was taken away from the first-borns, and given to the Tribe of Levi, and their descendants.
At the same time, it was instituted that the first born of each family should be redeemed; i.e., they would be bought back from the dedication to God that would previously have been required of them. Levites were substituted for the first-born and assumed the role of priest in their stead.
The buying back usually took the form of payment in coin or the sacrifice of a family animal.
