Our Mother Mary is an important part of our faith, but in the span of a month, we celebrate her is many different ways. Today, we celebrate Mary in the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Tomorrow, is the feast of Juan Diego, to whom Mary appeared in an apparition in Mexico in the 16th century. That apparition of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, is celebrated this upcoming Sunday. As we know, Mary is such a big part of our Advent and Christmas story. Then, we celebrate Mary on the first day of the new year on January 1 as Mary, Mother of God.
The Immaculate Conception of Mary was infallibly defined as dogma by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854, as the Pope wrote this: “The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the very first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of Almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.” In terms that we Catholics can understand, what does today’s solemnity actually mean? It means that, from the moment Mary existed, she was preserved from original sin. It also means that Mary was preserved from the stain, or effects, of original sin. Because of that, Mary’s nature was not corrupt in any way. Why was Mary given this unique privilege? This was not due to any of her own merits, but rather of her connection to her son, our Lord. Mary was Jesus’ Mother and at the same time he was her Savior. As Catholics, we believe that Mary was proactively redeemed. In other words, she received the fruits of Christ’s redemption prior to her conception. This is possible because our human perception of time is not the same as God’s governance of time. With God, all things are possible; he has the power to extend redemption to Mary before she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. The Church teaches that Mary was free from personal sin as well because her nature was spotlessly incorrupt as result of her Immaculate Conception.
In our Gospel from St. Luke today, Mary is greeted by the Angel Gabriel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Any sinfulness diminishes God’s grace in our soul. By his greeting, the Angel Gabriel is acknowledging that Mary has attained the fullness of grace and is free from all sin. St Ephraim of Syria (c. 306-373), a deacon in the Early Church and Doctor of the Church, wrote many hymns and poems. Regarding Mary’s sinlessness, he wrote:
You (Christ) alone and your Mother
Are more beautiful than any others;
For there is no blemish in you,
Nor any stains upon our Mother.
Who of my children
Can compare in beauty to these?
Today, in the midst of our preparations and waiting in this holy season of Advent, we honor Mary as our Mother, Christ’s mother, the mother of our Church, the Immaculate Conception.
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