Sunday: THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY Date: December 8, 2001 Year: A The readings: [Gen. 3:9-15, 20; Eph. 1:3-6, 11-2; Lk. 1:26-38] The message: Preserved free from all stain of origin sin. Prepared by: THE CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY Total words: 1438 |
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** The readings follow the sermon.
Today's Feast commemorates one of the Marian dogmas that has been
proclaimed by the Holy Catholic Church. Its origin can be traced
to the 4 th century. In those early days of the Church,
theologians believed and taught that the Blessed Virgin Mary had
been kept free of all traces of sin by the grace of God because she
was to become the Mother of the Lord Jesus. This belief coexisted
with the perpetual virginity of Mary, her sinlessness, and her
Divine motherhood. Church history makes known to us that as early
as the seventh century, there was a liturgical observance that
proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary to be free from sin.
Centuries later, after consulting with all the Bishops of the
world, Pope Pius IX pronounced and defined on December 8, 1854, the
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the
Ineffabilis Deus. This dogma proclaims that the Blessed
Virgin Mary, "in the first instance of her conception, by a
singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits
of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free
from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and
therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the
faithful."
In simple terms, this dogma proclaims that:
1) The entire being of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her physical and
spiritual natures, were created by God Himself at her conception;
and,
2) She who was to become the tabernacle of the incarnation, was
never subject to original sin, but was completely preserved from
all the effects of the Adamic sin.
In other words, the whole being of the Blessed Virgin Mary was
created by God immaculate in nature. Mary was the only new and
second Eve who was created in an immaculate state which was equal
to the state of holiness that the first Eve enjoyed prior to her
having disobeyed the Lord God in the Garden of Eden.
Researching Marian beliefs during the first thousand years, it is
learned through Church documents that in the 8 th century, St.
Germanus wrote a sermon on Our Lady's Falling-Asleep. In his
spiritual writings, he perceived that in the Blessed Virgin Mary,
there already appeared a threefold incorruption which we shall one
day all receive, of body, soul and spirit. In other words, by the
grace of God, St. Germanus perceived that the whole being of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, soul, spirit and body, had been preserved from
all stain of original sin at the first moment of her creation.
In Genesis 2:21-3, we learn that God created the first woman who
was called Eve. As a result of the woman allowing herself to be
tricked by the serpent [Gen. 3:13] and Adam also eating the fruit
of the forbidden tree that Eve had given him, [Gen. 3:11-2] both
lost the glory and beatific vision that they enjoyed in the Garden
of Eden. This blessing that they enjoyed was a conditional gift
from God.
The conditional gift of God is similar to someone indefinitely
granting you and your children and their children the trust of a
paradise island as long as not one of you pollute it. If you
pollute the island, you will be immediately expelled from it. As
such, none of your descendants will be able to enjoy the island
because you will have lost your right to it.
In the case of Adam and Eve, they were created immaculate in
their physical and spiritual natures for the Divine purpose of
becoming the holy parents of holy children who would eternally
enjoy the beatific vision of God.
When tempted by Satan, the angelic being who had rebelled against
God, our first parents, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the
forbidden tree. Through their disobedience, sin entered into the
world. Consequently, sin was transmitted to the entire human race,
depriving all of Adam and Eve's descendants of the original state
of holiness and justice that they enjoyed. [C.C.C. 404]
Following the disobedience of our first parents in the Garden of
Eden, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and
you will strike his heel." [Gen. 3:15] The seed of the woman who
will crush the head of the serpent is Christ, the woman at enmity
with the serpent being the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As soon as the former Kingdom of God had become corrupted by Satan,
the spiritual and physical natures of God's children became subject
to physical and spiritual death as defined by the Council of Trent.
(C.C.C. 403) Therefore, God instituted a redemptive plan to
reinstate His eternal Kingdom. Through the new Adam, Christ, and
the new Eve, the Blessed Virgin Mary, God planned to reclaim His
Kingdom and save His people from death.
In today's Second Reading, we praise God the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ who has blessed us through Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places. Through our living faith in
Christ and the Church Sacraments, we now qualify to receive the
blessed hope of enjoying our rightful inheritance that was taken
from us. Through our living faith in Jesus Christ and the
Sacrament of Baptism, we now have the opportunity to once more
become holy and blameless children before God in perfect love. We
now qualify to be raised to the blameless and immaculate state of
grace that the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed throughout her life and
continues to enjoy to this date.
By the grace of God, we have received a new heart, a new spirit
and the indwelling Holy Spirit to raise us to the level of
holiness that the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed during her earthly
life. Through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, having
been born again of water and Spirit, we have been adopted into
the Body of Christ in the living hope of receiving our salvation.
Through our living faith, including the reception of the Sacrament
of Confession, we receive the righteousness of our souls.
Through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we abide in Jesus and
Jesus in us, this leading towards our salvation. [Jn. 6:56] Then,
when the dead will be raised at the last trumpet, at the twinkle of
an eye, we will all be changed, our perishable bodies putting on
imperishability. [1 Cor. 15:52-3]
At that time, for those who have been saved through Jesus Christ,
it will be said that they are immaculate in soul, spirit and body.
In the fullness of their immaculate state, they will glorify God
forever and ever.
God called us to become His adopted children through Jesus Christ,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His
glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In today's Gospel Reading, we heard the words of the angel Gabriel,
"Greetings, favoured one!" [Lk. 1:28] The actual words from the
translated Latin Vulgate Bible are, "Hail, full of grace!" From
these words, the angel Gabriel was expressing that the Blessed
Virgin Mary enjoyed a unique state of grace that far surpassed the
creation of all men and the angels. Her soul, spirit and body were
immaculate because of her immaculate conception.
Not only was the Blessed Virgin Mary immaculate in her conception,
but she remained faithful and immaculate to God to the end of her
earthly life.
Through the Immaculate Conception of Mary who fully cooperated with
the Divine Plan of God, we are led to Jesus. The glorious Feast of
the Immaculate Conception is a reminder that the Blessed Virgin
Mary is the new Eve, our spiritual Mother, she who has become
co-redeemer with Christ in our salvation by allowing her womb to
become the humble instrument and Sacred Temple of the Living
God.
As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us be
thankful to the Immaculate Conception for answering her special
calling that was instrumental to our salvation. Let us praise her
for having remained immaculate to the end. Let us look up to her,
a precious gem of the Holy Catholic Church, as a perfect model of
virtues. Let us always remember that, by the grace of God, when we
will be glorified to the fullness of our beings, we also will
become immaculate in nature.
God said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?' The man said, 'The
woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree,
and I ate.' Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this
that you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent tricked me, and
I ate.'
The Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon
your belly you shall go, and dust you shall 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 your head, and you
will strike his heel.'
The man named his wife 'Eve,' because she was the mother of all the
living." [Gen. 3:9-15, 20]
He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ,
according tot he good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his
glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been
destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all
things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the
first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his
glory." [Eph. 1:3-6, 11-2]
And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is
with you.'
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of
greeting this might be. The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He 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. He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there will be end.'
Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?'
The 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. And 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. For
nothing will be impossible with God.'
Then Mary said, 'Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with
me according to your word.' Then the angel departed from her."
[Lk. 1:26-38]
Good morning my brothers and sisters in Christ. Welcome to today's
celebration of the Holy Mass on the special Feast of the Immaculate
Conception.
(Ref: Apostolic Constitution of Pius IX, "Defining the Dogma of the
Immaculate Conception", Ineffabilis Deus by Most Rev. John
R. Sheets, S.J.; Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 491-2;
"Christ's Mother & Our" by Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, C.M.; Catholic
Encyclopedia, "Immaculate Conception", article # 07674D at
"http://www.knight.org/advent/"; "A Catholic Dictionary of
Theology," by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd (1961), Volume 1, page
175)
The readings...
"When the man had eaten from the tree, the Lord God called to him,
and said, 'Where are you?' The man said, 'I heard the sound of you
in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself.'