Readings
I - Gen. 3: 9-15, 20
II - Eph. 1: 3-6, 11-12
III - Lk. 1: 26-38
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Solemnity)
God chose Mary for the great purpose of the fulfillment of the His promise, the salvation of the world from the clutches of the sin caused by the deliberate disobedience of Adam and Eve. He gave them a promise for the restoration of the original peace, joy and harmony that existed; and thereby making us once again holy and blameless children of God: “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”. As a fulfilment of the promise, Mary was predestined to be immaculate, worthy of beholding the Son of God.
The single takeaway that can be drawn from the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the three readings of the day is: Obedience - Submission and surrender to the will of God. Obedience has the power to make us holy and blameless before God. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and incurring sin and death upon themselves The New Eve, Blessed Virgin Mary through her obedience and submission to the will of God: “Behold the hand maid of the Lord…”brought forth the New Adam and along with him, the salvation and the new world order of freedom, fraternity and justice.
We are the children of our Blessed Mother. She is our model and guide. May this her feast inspire us to imitate this dazzling trait of our Blessed Mother: the Obedience, to behold the Lord with a blameless heart, surrendering ourselves unto His will. Do not be carried away by the jazzy lifestyle of the false world around, like Eve of the Garden of Eden but conquer courageously like our Mother Mary, the New Eve in obedience and submission to the will of God. May our mind and heart resonate with the prayer: “Mother Mary ever virgin, help me to save my soul”.
