Reading 1
Gn 3:9-15, 20
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you 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 at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
Reading II
Eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Brothers and sisters:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
Gospel
Lk 1:26-38
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.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“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 called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Meditation: Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12
The Immaculate Conception of Mary
Blessed be the … Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
Blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Chosen to be holy and without blemish. Destined for adoption as children of God. While these phrases describe God’s eternal plan for all of us, they hold a special meaning when we consider the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.
On this special day, we celebrate Mary as the new Eve, a woman preserved from original sin by a unique gift of God before she was even born. When we wonder what humanity would be like if it weren’t for sin, we can look to Mary for an answer. In her we see a humble trust in God’s ways. We see a willingness to question God, coupled with a quiet, reflective heart that embraces his answers wholeheartedly. We don’t always see perfect peace, but we do see perfect faith. And that’s why we are constantly encouraged to look to Mary as our mother and as the model of the Christian life.
As the first daughter of the new creation, Mary received in advance all of the blessings that are now available to us in Christ. Through the cross, we have been made sons and daughters of God. Through baptism, we are cleansed of original sin. Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, we too can become bearers of God, bringing Christ into the world.
Just as we have received the same blessings as Mary, we can follow Mary as our example. Every day we can choose to embrace God’s plan, even when it is hard to understand. Through quiet, listening hearts, we can become signposts to the heavenly kingdom, showing people a new way to live. When we give of ourselves to the poor or to help a neighbor, we build the kingdom of God. When we stay close to the Lord, even through times of heartbreak, we receive his comfort and manifest his transforming power. Yes, Mary is blessed above all people, but we too have been super-abundantly blessed! We too have received “every spiritual blessing.” May we never lose sight of who we are in Christ!
“Father, as we celebrate the gifts you gave to Mary, may we too be transformed by your grace to live as part of your new creation.”
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