December 8, 2020
Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 181
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with meC
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
Responsorial Psalm PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done
marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Reading 2 EPH 1:3-6, 11-12
Brothers and sisters:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
Alleluia See LK 1:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Hail, Mary, full of
grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you
among women.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
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THE GRACE THAT PROTECTS US FROM SIN
We celebrate the Holy Spirit, Giver of Life, who prepared a holy womb for the conception of Jesus' human nature by first creating Mary without the effects of Original Sin. As a new Eve, her conception was "immaculate" (untainted by Original Sin), because Jesus, who is fully divine and perfectly holy, could not grow in the womb of a sinner. Only later, when he had complete control over his decision as an adult, could he join himself to the sins of the human race.
We celebrate Mary's motherhood. In today's reading from Genesis chapter 3, we see Eve become the mother of all the living, but she sins and she passes this sinfulness onto all generations. In the Gospel reading, Mary becomes the Second Eve, saying yes - through faith empowered by grace - to the vocation of becoming the mother of the only one who could redeem us from sin. Thus, Mary becomes the mother of all those who share in this faith, all those who want to be redeemed from sin and who want to give birth to Jesus in others.
We also celebrate the Church's official pronouncement of Mary's immaculate conception, which Pope Pius IX made official in 1854. Because this occurred in recent history, it seems like an "invention" of Catholicism, but Christians have understood this dogma and taught it to each other since the early days of the Church. Pius IX merely drew special attention to it, because the world's influences had been eroding belief in this ancient dogma.
The idea that Mary could be conceived without bondage to Original Sin, and the related idea that Mary could spend her entire life free of sin, is not a glorification of her. It's a glorification of God, who filled her with grace in order to protect her in a special way, to strengthen her faith, and to enable her to resist temptation throughout her life. "Let it be done to me according to your word" was not a sudden or temporary leap of faith for Mary; it was her life-long attitude. The power that enabled her to fulfill this desire came straight from the Holy Spirit as a gift of grace.
Grace is a gift, pure gift. Grace is God's power received as a gift when we need it, regardless of what we do or don't do. Placing ourselves into God's grace, however, does depend on what we do. We were given this grace by baptism, but when we sin, we remove ourselves from the state of grace. We cannot sin and remain in God's good graces.
When we repent, God's mercy restores us to his grace. When we rely on this grace at the moment of temptation, we overcome the sin and we are restored to the peace of Christ.
Today's Prayer
Praise be to You, my Lord, because You propose to me wonderful paths, which You have traced from Your infinite love. You simply wait for my decision to surrender to You. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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