Tag: Immaculate Conception

Posted on

Immaculate Conception

Fresco of the Annunciation of the Birth of Mary to Joachim and Anna the Monastery Church of the Assumption of the Franciscan Duchess in Dillingen on the Danube, Bavaria, Germany

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play Music

Mass Readings

First Reading: Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Responsorial: Psalm 98:1-4
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120820.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

Today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is our belief that Mary was conceived and born without sin. It was this great gift of God that enabled Mary to be the mother of Jesus.

Why do we believe this?

When the archangel Gabriel greeted Mary, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). Scripture tells us that the angel told Mary she was filled with God’s grace! What is grace? The theologian Michael Himes suggests that grace is God’s love outside the Trinity. <1> God’s love filled Mary to the point that she was not distracted by sin and world allurements.

Why do we celebrate the Immaculate Conception? Well, it’s not because Mary is taking a victory lap around the celestial arena and we spectators are in the stands saying, “Good for you!” No, of course not! The Immaculate Conception together with the birth of our Savior reveal something very important for us.

You see, Mary was fully human. But God filled her with his grace. The grace that God filled her with is available to you and to me right here and right now! Jesus’ birth sanctified creation and he died on the cross for our sins. So, we are now more than our ancestors who lived before Christ, capable of being filled with God’s grace. God gave us the Church and the Sacraments to help us recognize grace in this world and to help us overcome sin.

The grace Mary had is your heritage! Look at our second reading. St. Paul tells us that God has blessed us in Christ, “with every spiritual blessing in the heavens” (Ephesians 1:3). God makes it possible for you and I like Mary to be united with him in eternal life.

Sound too good to be true? In my personal experience and my experience as a deacon, there are many people who are willing to believe that God’s grace is present in this world, but it’s not available for them. These are the sorts of people who say things like, “I’m not worthy,” “I’m not good enough,” or “If you knew the things I’ve done …”. Sound familiar?

But the Immaculate Conception gives us a beautiful reminder. In less than a month, we celebrate Jesus’ birth. Jesus came into this world telling all of us we don’t need to get on the cross. He did that for us. So, the message to all those people out there who are suffering from some sort of martyr complex is simple: get down off the cross! There is no need to suffer. Bring it to confession!

The Immaculate Conception reminds us that we are called to embrace our dignity. You and I are worthy of God’s grace! You and I are worthy of God’s blessings! We need to celebrate our gifts and share his mercy and love with everyone we encounter!

Homework! Graced by the Sacraments, I encourage you to reflect on one thing today. Go look at yourself in the mirror and say to yourself, “I am filled with grace!”

Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Image Credit: Annunciation of the Birth of Mary to Joachim and Anna; fresco, the Monastery Church of the Assumption of the Franciscan Duchess in Dillingen on the Danube, Bavaria, Germany; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dillingen_Klosterkirche_Mari%C3%A4_Himmelfahrt_Fresko_777.JPG. JPG file.

Notes:
<1> Michael Himes, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004), chap. Grace, Kindle.

Bibliography:
1. Gadenz, Pablo T. The Gospel of Luke. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2018. Kindle.
2. Himes, Michael. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004. Kindle.
3. Williamson, Peter S. Ephesians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2009. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Mary and Old Testament women: 64, 489
2. God’s gracious plan: 50, 257
3. Mary’s faith and fiat: 148, 494, 973, 2617, 2622, 2674
4. God revealed as Father of the Son: 240
5. Nothing impossible with God: 269, 273
6. The name “Jesus:” 430, 2812
7. Ecumenical councils on the incarnation: 456, 464-67
8. Virginal conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit: 484-88, 496-97, 505, 510, 695, 697, 723
9. Immaculate Conception: 490-91, 722
10. Redemption through Christ: 517, 1992
11. Church as holy and blameless: 865, 1426
12. The fulfillment of God’s plan: 1043
13. Meaning of “blessing:” 1078-79
14. Hail Mary: 2676-77
15. Adoption as children in the Son: 2782

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120820.cfm
Lectionary: 689

Reading 1
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
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 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
Ephesians 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 Luke 1:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Luke 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.

Posted on

03 Immaculate Conception of Mary

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Mass Readings
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Reading 1 – Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm – Psalm 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
Reading 2 – Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12  
Gospel – Luke 1:26-38

Mary remains one of the most controversial figures in the Christian world today. Sadly, she is a source of division within the greater Christian community. So before we get rolling, let’s clear up a few of things. First, today we celebrate Mary’s conception, not Jesus’. This confuses people often as we celebrate the Immaculate Conception so close to Christmas. Second, we venerate, we honor, but we never worship Mary. Honoring Mary is part of the Christian tradition. Mary was honored from the earliest accounts. Perhaps as early as within 200 years of Jesus dying do we find writings referring to Mary as Theotokos or Mother of God. Now if people are writing about Mary this way in the first two years, that means people were probably referring to her as “Mother of God” well before that. The Orthodox tradition in its liturgy honors Mary. Even Martin Luther acknowledged Mary as a Mother of God, and so too then does the Lutheran World Federation. Without using too broad a brush, this practice of honoring Mary is not specifically Catholic.

Alright, now that we cleared that up, let’s jump in to today’s Gospel, Luke 1:26-38. The angel Gabriel was sent to Mary and he says to her, “Hail, full of grace!” What does that mean?

One way to look at grace according the theologian Fr. Michael Himes of Boston College is that it’s God’s love outside the Trinity. Now this is a very helpful definition in reflecting on today’s Gospel. You see, Original Sin disrupts our relationship with God in a fundamental way. So, the tradition holds, that God needed to prepare Mary for her mission if she was willing to accept God’s plan for her life. So at the point of her conception, God freed her from the stain of Original Sin. This meant that rather than be disoriented away from God, she was able to fully receive God’s grace or God’s love. Being filled with God’s love meant that she was able to receive Jesus and bring him into the world. Jesus then is the love of God that fills Mary.
Now this did not make Mary supernatural or superhuman. Rather, Mary is able to love in the most human way possible – without any perceived ideas and without any conditions. Her love without the stain of Original Sin is fully human.

Gabriel goes on to tell her, “Do not be afraid, Mary…” Ok, let’s stop here for a minute.
So, who is Mary? Well, given the culture at the time, she was probably a teenager, perhaps an older teen, and she was betrothed to an older man named Joseph. So this angel appears to her. Scripture doesn’t give us a lot of detail here. Perhaps the angel came in all the splendor and glory of the kingdom of God, glowing and shining and radiant. Or maybe the angel came in the form of a human dressed in ordinary clothes. We just don’t know, but either way I have to wonder what my reaction would have been as a teenager if an angel had appeared to me and said God needs you for a mission. To be honest, I think I would have freaked out!

But Mary didn’t freak out. Instead she says in today’s Gospel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Ok, timeout. If Mary had been caught pregnant out of wedlock, if Joseph had handed her over, she probably would have been stoned to death, not to mention the shame and scandal that she would have brought on her family. Her life was on the line, but she says very bravely, “ok”, “according to His will, not mine”. Wow!

We honor Mary today because of her yes. She was the first disciple – the first person to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Did she keep quiet about it? No! She had to tell Joseph. She goes on to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. She can’t keep the Good News to herself. So the model, the image of Mary is not someone shrouded and bowed and quiet, but someone who courageously says, “YES”, and who goes out and faces a hostile world even under threat of death. Now that’s discipleship!

Homework: Nourished by the Eucharist and by the Word of God proclaimed, ask yourself:

  1. Am I willing to say yes to God, your will and not mine?
  2. Is my faith my best kept secret, or am I willing to share my faith with others?

I think by doing our homework this Advent season, we might be better able to re-energize our discipleship and go out into a world that desperately needs to hear a message of hope.

Ok, does everyone understand the homework? So, are you going to do your homework? Well, good! For a copy of today’s reflection, head over to the website, www.deaconrudysnotes.org. May each of us this Advent season come to know the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen