March 25th is the feast of the annunciation of Mary, for which Bach composed his cantata BWV 1.
I am reminded of a moment in August several years ago when I was riding the bus along Jasper Avenue in Edmonton. The middle-aged man in the last seat by the window, holding his prayer beads in his right hand, kisses a cross that hangs from his neck every time a Hail Mary completes; while holding a package of Player’s cigarettes in his left. When he rises to leave at his stop, one can read the back of his t-shirt: “I love the immaculate conception.”