The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”, 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to her, “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 holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Commentary on Genesis 3:9-15,20; Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12; Luke 1:26-38
The Immaculate Conception means that Mary from the first moment of her existence was totally free from the influence of that universal sinfulness which touches us all from the time we are born. The reason behind this belief (which is not explicitly contained in Scripture, and was only infallibly defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus) is that only a totally sinless environment was fitting for the Son of God in his becoming a human being. It has a very long history in the Church (dating back as far as the 2nd century).
The First Reading reminds us that it was a woman (Eve) who was instrumental in bringing pain and suffering, the result of sin, to the whole world. It will also be a woman (Mary) who will be instrumental in bringing to the world its salvation and healing.
The Second Reading tells us that all of us have been called by God to share his love and blessings long before we even existed. This is even more true of Mary, who was singled out from eternity by God to be the Mother of his Son.
Today’s Gospel speaks, not of Mary’s conception, but that of Jesus. It begins the moment Mary says that ‘Yes’. The angel greets her saying:
Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you…
In our Hail Mary prayer, “favored one” is translated as “full of grace”. Mary is filled with God’s love and God’s favour and especially singled out for this moment. “Full of grace” has always been interpreted as indicating Mary’s total freedom from any taint of sin in her role as ‘Ark of the Covenant’. It was believed that the Incarnate Word should begin his human existence in an environment untouched by sin.
We can apply each of the readings to our own lives. We have been often the cause of sin and pain in other people’s lives. Let us rather be people who bring wholeness and healing.
As well, let us be deeply aware that, long before we were born, every single one of us has been called by God to know, love and serve him. We have been the constant recipients of his blessings. How will we respond? Unlike Mary, we were born touched by a sinful world. But we also can become filled with grace if, like her, we say a resounding and unconditional ‘Yes!’ to all that God wants from us. Let us ask Mary today to help us to love Jesus as she did, right through the pain of the Cross to the joy of the Resurrection.
