The Immaculate Conception

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as proclaimed a dogma of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854. Many was, by the grace of God, conceived in her mother’s womb without, or absent, the stain of the original sin of Adam and Eve. In the eyes of God, she was perfect in holiness, made perfect for a reason, that when the time came she would be ready, through her own free will, to accede to the invitation of God as announced by the message of an angel to become the Mother of God, to give God’s son a human nature.

This is prophesied in the 7th Chapter of the prophet Isaiah in the 8th century B.C. -- eight hundred years earlier, vs. 14 “the Lord himself, therefore will give you a sign. It is this: The virgin is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call ‘Immanuel’, God is with us.”

God in the Garden of Eden had made man in his own image including free will. The freedom to choose, to decide for himself but this gift was not given without the hope on the part of the loving creator that his wishes and commands once made known would be followed and carried out. Prohibitions observed and commands followed. This is the essence of man’s salvation the following completely of God’s laws and commands.

In Luke’s Gospel today, we hear how the Annunciation of the conception of God’s Son, was made known by the message of an angel.

If we place the first reading from Genesis alongside Luke’s Gospel, we see first, God’s plan rejected by self will. And second the restoration of man through the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At first, Mary didn’t understand how what was said to her could be possible and she asked questions. But where Eve gave away to temptation and disobeyed. Mary, the woman, said yes to God: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.”

Mary was conceived without sin but she had free will and could have, for a number of reasons said no. But she said yes, and that has made all the difference.

Mary is told that her cousin Elizabeth has conceived in her old age, another action of God’s providence, for her son was John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus.

For nothing will be impossible with God.

Mary was addressed as “full of grace”In her sinlessness she had found favor with God and she was told not to be afraid.”

When she asked, “How can this be?” She was told,” The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will over shadow you.”

In her lowliness we see how much she is loved by God and how much He relies on her. This was only the beginning for Mary’s heart would be pierced by a sword and her sufferings would be great in union with those of God’s Son, her son.

Why is all of this important and worth speaking of? Because Mary is our model of how to interact with God and with one another, the woman clothed with the sun.

The late archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote a poem about Mary titled, “O Beautiful Lady dressed in blue” I can’t quote it but I remember how lovely it was.

Archbishop Sheen made the following analogy about the Immaculate Conception and the virgin birth, “Our human nature was very much like a polluted stream up until the incarnation. Imagine a ship, for example, sailing in polluted waters. It wishes to sail in clear waters but without the pollution coming from one into the other. How could the transfer of the ship be made except by a lock? So the ship in the foul waters would be put into a lock where there would be separation of water, then the ship would be raised to the level of the unpolluted waters. Now the Immaculate Conception and the virgin birth were that lock, the pollution stopped because there was no union of man and woman. It was simply woman alone who gave a human nature to Christ and began the new humanity.

It is this new beginning this altogether transcendent passage in man’s history that we celebrate in today’s solemn mass in honor of Mary, the beautiful lady, dressed in blue whom Archbishop Sheen loved and celebrated. We are a new race in Christ. We have been raised up and our ship set on course in the clear waters. We have left the polluted waters behind never to return to them.

Our mother, Mary, is a spotless virgin who is full of grace and makes secure for us the grace we need and long for from her son.

The result of this marvelous working of grace by God for our benefit is laid out by St. Paul today in his letter to the Ephesians. He calls us brothers and sisters whom God has blessed in Christ. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him. God has adopted us 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.

On Thursday we heard Jesus say in Matthew’s Gospel: “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. But only the one who does the will of my Father.” God’s commands are to be carried out and his prohibitions observed.

Free will is ours so we may freely choose to love God to obey Him and with our lives give Him glory.

All we have to do is to say “yes” like Mary and not “no” like Eve. It wasn’t easy for Mary or for her Son. And if we choose to say “yes”, it won’t be easy for us either.

But the encouragement of the angel to Mary is meant also for us…

“Nothing is impossible with God.”