Gospel Luke 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.
REFLECTION
Who does the Immaculate Conception refer to?
I teach second graders for Faith Formation in my parish. The week of December 8th, I ask them the question above. Many will say that it is Jesus who Mary conceives by the power of the Holy Spirit.
My response is, “Nope.” Then I show them a picture of a couple named St. Joachim and St. Ann. Whose parents are these saints? Yes, they are the parents of the Virgin Mary. It was their daughter, Mary, who was conceived without sin. “Macula” is a Latin word meaning “stain.” Immaculate means without stain. This title Immaculate refers to Mary’s soul. She was conceived without “original sin.”
The Gospel of the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception is about the visit of Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.
When you read the readings of the day, you yourself may be confused as to who was Immaculately Conceived. The Gospel from Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26-38 is about Mary’s acceptance of the Archangel’s message that she will conceive and bear a son, Jesus, who will be the Son of God. Isn’t this the account of another Marion Feast Day called the Annunciation?
Yet, the Catholic Church in her wisdom has selected readings that teach us something about how much God loves us.
The first reading from the book of Genesis revisits the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden and the promise of God to the serpent (Satan) that “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you will strike at his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) This is the promise that God will send us a Savior to redeem us.
In the second reading St. Paul explains that we have been blessed “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.” (Ephesians 1:3-6; 11-12) What a blessing! We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens!
Then in the Gospel, the Angel says to Mary, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” The Lord has already chosen Mary before she was conceived to be his mother. She was given graces then, but now He lavishes her with abundant graces – His love. Can we too inherit the graces Mary receives for her “fiat?”
So, because the Lord chose Mary to be spotless, Immaculate, for His incarnation from before she was even conceived in the womb of St. Ann, we are blessed with the inheritance she passes on to us.
Let us pray for our Mother Mary to send her graces to all priests and bishops to persevere in teaching us the beautiful truths of our Catholic Faith! "Oh, Mary Conceived without Sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
Join us in praying our PAPA Prayer for Priests.
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