Mary, the sacred vessel
Gospel Reflection
Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of our dear Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is not the Blessed Mary's conception of Jesus, rather this is St. Anne's conception of Mary.
In our readings we heard how, from the very beginning, Mary has been chosen and has been prepared by God for a particular role in our salvation history, and that is to be the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.
We heard in our second reading in Paul's letter to the Christians of Ephesus, how God has chosen us, how God already has a plan for us, even before the world was created, and His plan is for us to be holy, with no stain of sin as we face Him. God has a plan when it comes to the role that we play in our salvation, in the salvation of humankind.
And for our dear Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the time when Eve gave in to the temptation of the devil, for her to become equal to God, God already has a plan as to how He would reconcile us to Him. The new Eve, our dear Mother, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ whom He has chosen, whom He has prepared to become that pure vessel of God made man, of our Savior, of our dear Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why we truly and deeply believe that from the start, our dear Mother has been spared by God from bearing the sin of our forefathers, to become the sacred vessel that will carry our beloved Savior.
She was conceived without sin for her to be worthy to conceive God when He decided to become man, to embrace our humanity in order to save us from our sinfulness.
That is why in our Gospel reading from St. Luke, we heard the story of the anunciation, how the Angel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she will become the Mother of our Lord.
Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And Gabriel further said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."
She will become a vessel for God, God made man.
And while Eve became evil in her in her pride, in her desire to become like God, in the humility of our dear Mother, she became worthy to become the holy vessel that would carry our Lord.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
Let our dear Mother be an inspiration for us, and let us accept our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives that we may participate in the salvation of the whole of humankind in our humility.
Let us prepare ourselves in accepting our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us clean ourselves, let us purify ourselves from all stain of sin that we may become worthy to be a vessel for our Lord.
Image: Painting of Francisco Rizi, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42517526
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.
Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of our dear Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is not the Blessed Mary's conception of Jesus, rather this is St. Anne's conception of Mary.
In our readings we heard how, from the very beginning, Mary has been chosen and has been prepared by God for a particular role in our salvation history, and that is to be the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.
We heard in our second reading in Paul's letter to the Christians of Ephesus, how God has chosen us, how God already has a plan for us, even before the world was created, and His plan is for us to be holy, with no stain of sin as we face Him. God has a plan when it comes to the role that we play in our salvation, in the salvation of humankind.
And for our dear Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the time when Eve gave in to the temptation of the devil, for her to become equal to God, God already has a plan as to how He would reconcile us to Him. The new Eve, our dear Mother, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ whom He has chosen, whom He has prepared to become that pure vessel of God made man, of our Savior, of our dear Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why we truly and deeply believe that from the start, our dear Mother has been spared by God from bearing the sin of our forefathers, to become the sacred vessel that will carry our beloved Savior.
She was conceived without sin for her to be worthy to conceive God when He decided to become man, to embrace our humanity in order to save us from our sinfulness.
That is why in our Gospel reading from St. Luke, we heard the story of the anunciation, how the Angel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she will become the Mother of our Lord.
Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And Gabriel further said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."
She will become a vessel for God, God made man.
And while Eve became evil in her in her pride, in her desire to become like God, in the humility of our dear Mother, she became worthy to become the holy vessel that would carry our Lord.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
Let our dear Mother be an inspiration for us, and let us accept our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives that we may participate in the salvation of the whole of humankind in our humility.
Let us prepare ourselves in accepting our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us clean ourselves, let us purify ourselves from all stain of sin that we may become worthy to be a vessel for our Lord.
Image: Painting of Francisco Rizi, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42517526
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