Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The first reading today describes Eve’s choice to follow a different voice than that of God. Very early in the church’s understanding of God’s work, she saw in Eva, (Latin for Eve) a rejection of the word of God. The angelic greeting to Mary, Ave, began a dialog which culminated in Mary’s yes to God. Thus “Ave” responded differently than “Eva.” This yes to God, a free act, was recognized by God who the church recognizes as the cause of her conception without the mark of original sin due to the merits of Christ. If the chronology confuses, (wasn’t Mary born before Jesus?) We must recall that time, as we known it, is a human construction. The two great Marian Dogma’s, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, are really not exclusively about Mary, they are about God’s relationship to his church. What was given to humanity before the fall is what we can identify with the gift of Mary being conceived without the consequences of original sin, just as humanity experienced it prior to the fall. Yet, despite humanity’s rejection of God’s will, the invitation to the fullness of life in God was achieved in Christ and continues through the work of the Church. Thus Mary, as a follower of Christ, received in her Assumption what is promised to all who imitate her yes to God. Today’s feast recalls the faithfulness of God and, in spite of our shortcomings, God’s continued invitation.