Gn 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38
The Church defined as a dogma of Faith that from the first moment of her conception in the womb of her mother Anne, Mary was preserved from Original Sin. Every human being is infected with original sin from birth, but Mary was preserved from that because God prepared her to be the mother of His begotten Son, Jesus.
What does the feast of the Immaculate Conception tell us today?
Importantly, the feast reminds us that sin is ugly and the grace of God is beautiful. Our first reading describes to us the ugliness of sin – there is shame, guilt and anxiety. We need to realize that Adam and Eve’s experience is our experience, too.
When Adam and Eve had eaten of the fruit from the forbidden tree they went into hiding. They were afraid and embarrassed. Is this not our own experience when we sinned? When we do something bad, we feel nervous and scared. That’s the ugliness of sin.
When God was looking for his beloved creatures, Adam answered from his hideout, “I am here but I am afraid, because I am naked.” When we do something wrong, we lose our face. We see our nakedness. That’s the ugliness of sin.
When God said, “Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?” the man replied, “Don’t blame me; blame that woman you gave me.” And Eve said, “Don’t blame me; blame that snake in the grass.” This is the ugliness of sin – we become proud, we become self-righteous. When we sin, we often make excuses and we tend to pass the blame on others. We develop the bad habit of “passing the buck.”
On the other hand, the second reading and the gospel tell us that the grace of God is beautiful. In the second reading we hear: God has chosen us to be his children. Is there anything more beautiful than to be called a child of God? God promised that he will not abandon us. God will save us in Jesus. We will be victorious over sin because Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Christ has chosen us in him, even before the foundations of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight.
The gospel is a beautiful story of an ordinary woman highly favored by God. The story of Mary was one of peace, love and intimacy. There was the assuring presence of the angel, “Fear not Mary.” There was the greeting of peace, “Hail O favored one!” There was a gracious act of humility, “I am the servant of the Lord, be it done to me as you say.” The grace of peace, love, intimacy and humility is always beautiful.
Sin is ugly; the grace of God is beautiful. The problem with the world today is that it is preaching the other way around. What is ugly, the world makes beautiful; and what is beautiful, the world makes ugly. The feast of the Immaculate Conception makes it clear to us that sin is always ugly and the grace of God is always beautiful. There is no beauty in pornography because this would lead to more rapes, incestuous unions and sexual abuse of children. There is no beauty in sex outside the context of love and marriage because this would transform persons into mere objects of pleasure and sexual desires. There is no beauty in drugs because this would lead to killings and crimes of violent nature.
May the Blessed Mother make us appreciate more the beauty of a pure heart, a simple lifestyle and a humble service! All of us are sinners, but the blessed Mother will continue to console and inspire us to stand up after every fall. Sometimes we fall to discouragement because of constant sinning, but Mary will always be there to remind us that indeed we are predestined by Christ to be holy and blameless in His sight.
A certain man doubted the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, he prayed devoutly so that he might be enlightened.
While sleeping one night, the man had a dream. He saw an angel who brought him to a village where he found so many houses.
“I want you to choose a house for your one and only son,” the angel told him.
The man and the angel went through the village. The man looked very carefully. He loved his son so much that he wanted only the best for him. Since the houses he saw were all old and dilapidated, not one pleased him.
“I cannot find a house to fit my son,” the man spoke to the angel. “Would it be possible to build the house I have in mind for him?”
“Just describe the house you have in mind,” the angel replied. “It shall be built in no time.”
The man described the house as very clean, beautiful, and perfect. After he had said this, the house appeared in front of him.
“Why did you choose this kind of house for your son?” the angel asked him.
“How can I allow my son to live in the houses you showed me?” the man replied. “They are all dirty and run-down. I can only desire what is perfect and ideal for my one and only son.”
“Your words are the answer to your own doubts,” the angel said.
“What doubts?”
“You doubt the Immaculate Conception, don’t you?”
“Yes,” answered the man, “but I cannot see what it has to do with choosing houses.”
“When God searched for a woman to carry the flesh of his son in her womb,” the angel said, “he could not find anyone fit, for all men are imperfect and defiled by sin. In his love and wisdom God had to create a creature, perfect, immaculate and undefiled by sin, in order to carry the flesh of His son. If you, imperfect as you are, can will only what is best for your son, would God think less for his only Son? That is the reason for Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The dwelling of Christ, Mary, must be perfect to bear the Perfect One.”
(From Vestiges of Wisdom: An Anthology of Anecdotes Vol. 2)
No comments:
Post a Comment