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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This Tuesday, December 8th, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is an incredibly significant celebration. Mary is human like the rest of us in every way except that she was conceived without original sin. She was full of grace from the moment of conception and remained full of grace until she was assumed body and soul into heaven. This is why the Archangel, Gabriel, when he appeared to Mary said, “Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you”. Mary was favored by God over any other human ever to live. He chose her before she was conceived to be the mother of God.
First, how is this possible? When Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins, He freely chose to cleanse Mary of original sin at the moment of her conception. Jesus is God. He is outside of time and space. He retroactively applied the sanctifying grace of His death and resurrection to Mary at her point of conception.
Second, why was this necessary? Bishop Fulton Sheen described Jesus as the Divine Architect. He knew when and how He would enter into the world as our Savior. He chose Mary ahead of time to be His Mother. He knew she needed to be free from sin to carry Him in her womb as a living tabernacle of the Lord. Therefore, she was conceived without original sin and freed from the corruption of the body and was assumed into heaven at the end of her life.
What does this mean for you and me? If Jesus could free Mary from sin and preserve her throughout her life from the stain of sin, then Jesus can also free us from sin and help us avoid sin throughout our lives. He does this through His sanctifying grace. This grace is initially offered in Baptism and continues to be offered in all the Sacraments. The most common way you and I can be forgiven of our sins after Baptism is through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion. These are extremely powerful ways Jesus sanctifies us, cleanses us, and purifies us. Every time we go to confession, we leave full of grace. Every time we go to Mass, we leave full of grace.
Friends, this solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is so significant because in Mary, God gives us a model of who we can become. When we surrender everything to the Lord, especially in the Sacraments, He can restore us to our original image and likeness.
Let us turn to Mary today and ask her to pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Let us pray that we will remain open to the fullness of His grace and become saints! Mary, full of grace, pray for us!
Amen!
Fr. Jim Lowe, CC