Hôm nay toàn thể Giáo hội Công giáo chúng ta vui mừng với niềm hân hoan trong ngày lễ Đức Mẹ Vô Nhiễm nguyên tội. "Hát lên mừng CHÚA một bài ca mới, vì Người đã thực hiện bao kỳ công.." (Ps 98: 1) Vâng đúng thế, sự kỳ diệu thực sự là Thiên Chúa đã kêu mời Đức Maria, một người thiếu nữ Israel, được sinh ra trong sự tinh khiết và tinh tuyền. Và Chúa là Thiên Chúa đã chọn cô để làm Mẹ con của Ngài. Đây chính là dấu chỉ của tình yêu mà Thiên Chúa đã dành cho Mẹ Maria, một tình yêu thật là vô biên và vô lượng của Thiên Chúa dành cho Mẹ Maria và cho nhân loại.
Ai mà không lo sợ khi nghe đến những điều như thế? Nhưng Thiên Chúa chắc chắn là mọi sự được thực hiện bởi Chúa Thánh Thần. Chúa Thánh Thần sẽ ngự xuống trên mẹ, và sức mạnh của Đấng Tối Cao phủ rợp bóng trên Mẹ và Người con trẻ được sinh ra sẽ được gọi là đấng thánh, là Con Thiên Chúa ..."
When Mary heard the angel's greeting, she was greatly troubled, but the angel assured her of the action of the Holy Spirit. "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ... you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus..." Who would not be greatly troubled? The angel continued: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the most high will overshadow you. The child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God..." How could Mary say no? All her life, she was just a simple, available, listening woman attuned to the Father's will. Total availability seems to be part of her innermost being... "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your words." Although Mary did not know how far God would take her, she surrendered herself completely, trusting and loving God.
We are invited to follow her example to open ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit that we may become instruments of salvation.
Mary, be our guide in today's world so that we may become more available to God and thankful for the wonders of His love.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:26–28
What does it mean to be “full of grace?” This is a question at the heart of our solemn celebration today.
Today we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Savior of the World, under the unique title of “The Immaculate Conception.” This title acknowledges that grace filled her soul from the moment of her conception, thus preserving her from the stain of sin. Though this truth had been held for centuries among the Catholic faithful, it was solemnly declared as a dogma of our faith on December 8, 1854, by Pope Pius IX. In his dogmatic declaration he stated:
We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior 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.
By raising this doctrine of our faith to the level of a dogma, the holy father declared that this truth is to be held as certain by all the faithful. It is a truth that is found in the words of the angel Gabriel, “Hail, full of grace!” To be “full” of grace means just that. Full! 100%. Interestingly, the Holy Father did not say that Mary was born in a state of Original Innocence as were Adam and Eve before they fell into Original Sin. Instead, the Blessed Virgin Mary is declared to be preserved from sin by “a singular grace.” Though she had not yet conceived her Son, the grace that He would win for humanity by His Cross and Resurrection was declared to have transcended time so as to heal our Blessed Mother at the moment of her conception, preserving her of even the stain of Original Sin, by the gift of grace.
Why would God do this? Because no stain of sin could be mingled with the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. And if the Blessed Virgin Mary were to become a fitting instrument by which God unites with our human nature, then she needed to be preserved from all sin. Additionally, she remained in grace throughout her life, refusing to ever turn from God by her own free will.
As we celebrate this dogma of our faith today, turn your eyes and heart to our Blessed Mother by simply pondering those words spoken by the angel: “Hail, full of grace!” Ponder them, this day, reflecting upon them over and over in your heart. Imagine the beauty of the soul of Mary. Imagine the perfect grace-filled virtue she enjoyed in her humanity. Imagine her perfect faith, perfect hope and perfect charity. Reflect upon every word she spoke, being inspired and directed by God. She truly is The Immaculate Conception. Honor her as such this day and always.
My mother and my queen, I love you and honor you this day as The Immaculate Conception! I gaze upon your beauty and perfect virtue. I thank you for always saying “Yes” to the will of God in your life and for allowing God to use you with such power and grace. Pray for me, that as I come to know you more deeply as my own spiritual mother, I may also imitate your life of grace and virtue in all things. Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You!
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have freed me from slavery to sin and introduced me into your divine life as your child. Help me to imitate Mary, your immaculate daughter, and attain the holiness to which you have called me.
1. The Old Eve: One of the main biblical foundations for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is her identity as the New Eve. The First Reading, from Genesis, invites us to contemplate how the old Eve fell from grace and into sin along with her husband, the old Adam. We should recall that Adam and Eve were created “very good” (Genesis 1:31) and without the stain of sin. When Adam and Eve listened to the temptations of the serpent and fell into sin by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, they disobeyed God, broke their relationship with God, lost divine grace, and could no longer eat of the tree that gave eternal life. The old Adam and Eve welcomed the lie of the ancient serpent and thought that they could be divine by defining good and evil for themselves. This was a false path, one that did not lead to a continued share in the divine life. By sinning and choosing evil instead of the good, they lost the gift of immortality and brought upon themselves the sufferings of toil, pain in childbirth, and death itself.
Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, draw me into this time of prayer with you, on this feast day of your mother. Your whole Church rejoices today, in Heaven and on earth, for this singular privilege that you wished to give your mother: In anticipation of the saving merits of Jesus Christ, you wished to preserve her from the stain of original sin. Let me enter into this time of prayer and be moved in awe, as you wished to be, by the beauty of your mother’s fiat. May her words also take flesh in my own life, Jesus.
Her Name Was Mary: The Evangelist St. Luke introduced this young woman to us simply: “and the virgin’s name was Mary.” The angel’s title reflected the truth that she is filled with grace, with God’s life in her soul. He made the invitation on God’s behalf, and she pondered it. Yet, was her soul so united to God that thinking about something to herself was also a sharing of it with the Lord? As she pondered what this might mean, was she not also asking God to help her know how to respond to him? So bound was her heart to his that she did nothing alone; everything was shared with him. How different would our lives be if we strove to live in the same way?
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