Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Where are you, Adam? God's question, posed to Adam after his fall, has continued to echo in everyone's heart ever since. It is the voice of conscience. Where are you? Who have you become by rebelling against me? The following description of the scene in Genesis reflects the condition of man after the fall. Adam hid in the bushes; he did not want God to see him. This is a characteristic defense against impending remorse. Escape into chaos, pursuit, activities, work ... but not to hear the inner cry: Where are you?
“I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. Who told you that you were naked?” (cf. Gen 3:10-11)
A man, wants to escape from the voice of conscience, shows that he hears it, because how would he know that it is necessary to run away? Who said? Your own conscience. So, you have it! It works in you! You know what is right and what is wrong. Why are you not following this discernment?
What have you done? Maybe you ate…? A typical response to questions of conscience is self-defense and blaming others: "it's not me, it's her." How often do we try to hide behind the fault of another! Undoubtedly, Eve was guilty because she picked the fruit and gave it to Adam. But he himself took it and ate it. His fault is his fault, and Eve's fault is her fault. My guilt distances me from God, and it happens regardless of the guilt of the other. His/her guilt does not justify me, it does not help remove my guilt. Each of us must personally stand before God with his own guilt and answer for it. It is extremely important to realize that we have a tendency to sin and a desire to escape from guilt, that we have a perverse tendency to shift the blame onto another. This is who we are, this is who I am.
Only when we see this, we will be able to understand the greatness of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Her sinlessness. Fr. Kenneth Baker explain that: “Two special factors rendered Mary impeccable or unable to sin. The first was her constant awareness of God, living always in His presence, and the second was her reception of special and extraordinary graces. These special graces made it possible for Mary to maintain a perfect harmony in her mind, will and emotions and to recognize always what was the right thing to do and then to do it.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that by the grace of God She was free from any stain of sin: “The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia) and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature". By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long” (CCC 493).
Note: Mary reacts quite differently from most people. For the angelic greeting, proclaiming words of praise, Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you, blessed are you among women (cf. Lk 1:28), She does not become exalted or tries to falsely pretend to be modest, but simply wonders what sort of greeting this might be (cf. Lk 1:29). She does not run away, but calmly reflects on the meaning of the words she hears. Finally, she answers God's summons: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (cf. Lk 1:38) From now on this answer will be repeated by her throughout her life. To the question: "Where are you?" She replies: "Here I am standing before you as a handmaid." In quiet openness, she stands before God, entrusting herself to Him.
Only this attitude allows us to entrust ourselves to God and gradually discover His plan for us. We have to be aware that we cannot fully answer the question "Where are you?". We do not know where we are or who we really are. We are a mystery to ourselves, and we need someone to tell us who we really are and where we are. We can only confront the mystery of He Who Is, entrusting ourselves completely to Him, asking Him to reveal who we really are. That is why the truest human response to God's call are the words of Mary: I am the handmaid of the Lord.
Thanks to St. Paul, an expert in the Bible and a man who lives with the fullness of faith, so that through the revelation of God in the Son made man, we may discover the mystery of our life in God's gaze:
“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.” (cf. Eph 1:3-4)
Where am I? Who am I? I am someone whom God chose "before the foundation of the world"! I am called by him in love to participate in his life, filled with every spiritual blessing "in the heavenly places", not on earth, but in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Only standing openly before God in an attitude of readiness can we discover the truth about who we are and where our true place of being is.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george
Prayer to the Immaculate Mother
Immaculate Conception,
Mary, my Mother,
Live in me. Act in me.
Speak in and through me.
Think your thoughts in my mind.
Love through my heart.
Give me your dispositions and feelings.
Teach, lead and guide me to Jesus.
Correct, enlighten and
expand my thoughts and behavior.
Possess my soul. Take over my entire personality
and life. Replace it with yourself.
Incline me to constant adoration and thanksgiving.
Pray in me and through me. Let me live in you and
keep me in this union always. (Saint John Paul II)