Homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
8 December 2015
8 December 2015
You may have heard it said that the reason why we
celebrate this Solemnity is one of the most misunderstood in the Tradition of
the Church. Today we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary.
Perhaps
one of the reasons so many people become confused about whose conception we
celebrate is partly due to the fact that we’re in the Advent season (preparing
for the coming of Christ), and partly because of the Gospel story we just heard
– the Annunciation of the Lord. But we must always remember that we celebrate
today the event of Mary’s conception – not Jesus’.
Now,
you may be asking yourself, “Why would we be celebrating this type of feast for
Mary?” The answer is found in today’s Gospel.
I’m
sure a few of know well the story of the visit of the Archangel Gabriel to
Mary. It was for this particular moment in Salvation History that we celebrate
Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The doctrine of this feast teaches us that from
the moment of her conception, Mary was free from the stain of sin. Why? Because
of what we just heard: Mary, in her free will, was given the grace to say “yes”
to the vocation waiting for her from the beginning of time.
Now,
there was one other woman in human history who was created without sin: Eve,
the “mother of the living.” However, as the story of the Garden of Eden plays
out, Eve, unfortunately, due to her free will, sins and becomes the “mother
of the dying,” for all of her offspring has been condemned to bear the mark of
Original Sin, and has been banished from the joys of Paradise.
That
is, until Mary, the “New Eve,” comes along.
Because
of the grace given to her at the moment of her conception, being freed from the
stain of Original Sin, she is able to become the true Mother of the Living, since
it is through her Offspring that the world is reconciled to God, and those of
us who are reborn of water and the Spirit become alive once again in the glory
of God.
Without
the “no” of Eve, we could not have had the “yes” of Mary. Without Eve rejecting
the grace of God, we could have the example of Mary living in the fullness of
that grace. However, without the offspring of Eve, we could not have had the
Offspring of Mary.
We
take time today to celebrate this great Solemnity because without Mary, in use
of her free will, cooperating with the grace given to her by the Father, she
could not have brought forth the Son, who sent the Holy Spirit into the world
so that you and I can be sharers and participants of that same grace given to
Mary. We take time today to celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception so that we
can understand and see how a live lived in full cooperation with the grace of
God should look like.
That
life of grace is ultimately that symbiotic relationship of the life of God
intersecting and influencing our lives. The Eucharist we participate in today and
will receive momentarily is that symbiosis in action: It is the life of God
instilling itself into our lives so that we can fulfill our vocations through and
by the grace of God.
We
should not be confused about why we celebrate this great Solemnity today.
Rather, we take this opportunity to become like Mary, finding new life in her
Offspring, and allowing that life to more us into full cooperation with the
grace of God. While in our humanity we are children of Eve, through our rebirth
in baptism, we become children of Mary, the true Mother of the Living, for
through her, New Life was birthed into the world. And through this gift of New
Life, we care called to share in that awesome gift of grace.
O
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you!
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Enjoy the journey . . .
