THE WOMAN CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Gen 3: 9-15,20; Ps 98:1-4; Eph 1:3-6,11-12; Lk 1:26-38

The Handmaid of the Lord

After the fall of Adam and Eve, it seemed almost impossible that God would realise the divine plan of making us to be like him. The cunning serpent knew how important the principle of man’s generation was for the human race to attain the divine goal or purpose; So, he planted his sinful seed in the material generators or first parents of our race. God, who is the source of all wisdom and knowledge, foreknew the evil intention of the cunning serpent and warned Adam and Eve of the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit. The real warning was on the consequences of disobeying the word of God, that God secretly made the spiritual head or principle of our race. That the word of God is the head of the human race is implied in the revealed purpose of the creation of man, for man cannot be like God without containing the word of God. In this deeper light, the human race is the inheritance of the Eternal Word of God. Hence, while Adam and Eve were the material originators or principles of our race, the Eternal Word was the spiritual head or principle of the human race. Subsequently, God used the spiritual principle to restore his plan when the material principles were hijacked by the evil serpent. Because the head was intact, another means was immediately fashioned by God with complete immunity from the corruptive influence of the serpent. “I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

The statement of immunity for the woman from the corruptive influence of the evil serpent reveals grace as the source of her protection and fruitfulness. God himself created the enmity between the woman and the serpent. Since the word of God contains everything contrary to the evil contents of the serpent, God created the enmity by endowing the woman with the grace of his Word. This is the meaning of our solemn celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the celebration of what God accomplished for our race in the Blessed Virgin Mary by keeping her intact from the corruptive influence of the evil serpent. In the first place, it is that she may conceive the Son of God, the Eternal Word of God and equip him with a human body for the work of our redemption. In the second place, it is so that she may aid us by re-conceiving us in grace as the mystical members of Jesus Christ. For this latter purpose, she is made full of grace, that with and within her, we may be kept safe from the corruption of sin from the evil serpent. The angel signifies her plenitude of grace by revealing the presence of God with her. “He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’” The angel continued: “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” This is the mystery we are celebrating today to God’s glory and our salvation.

The mystery is central to our salvation because to be saved is to have nothing to do with the evil serpent and sin, its sinful offspring. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the material safe haven, the garden enclosed, where God forms his children free from the corruption of sin. Saint Paul clearly expressed this with reference to Jesus Christ as the cause of freedom from sins. “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ, for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved." Jesus is the cause of the free gift of abundant and full grace we find in Mary. So, the Blessed Virgin Mary is conceived Immaculate that we may be conceived sinless in fullness of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. The praise and blessings go to the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the communion of the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist bids us sing a new song to God for these wonders. “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.” For the Blessed Virgin Mary to successfully aid our salvation, our affinity with her is most beneficial. The spiritual struggle or battle is between her and the evil serpent; between her offspring and that of the serpent. May her prayers aid us in our battle against sin and contamination of the sinful world.

Let us pray: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son, grant, we pray, that, as you preserved her from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.