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| “Immaculate Conception” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1767-69 |
Reading 1: Genesis
3:9-15, 20
The LORD God then called to
the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in
the garden;
but I was afraid, because I
was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you
that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had
forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman
whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the
tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the
woman,
“Why did you do such a
thing?”
The woman answered, “The
serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the
serpent:
“Because you have done this,
you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild
creatures;
on your belly shall you
crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you
and the woman,
and between your offspring
and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his
heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother
of all the living.
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Commentary on Gn
3:9-15, 20
Adam and Eve are confronted by God after having
eaten from the Tree of Wisdom the fruit of which was forbidden to them. Adam
blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent. Thus the identity of the serpent is now
synonymous with the Devil. This passage, because of that linkage can now be
classified as the first prediction of the Messianic struggle with evil and
ultimate victory.
Contained here is the scriptural evidence of
Original Sin. The story is also called “The Fall” as God’s human creation (personified
in Adam and Eve) falls from grace and is condemned to suffer the struggle to
regain the blessed state throughout history. Mankind has disobeyed God and
defied his will; in doing so sin and death enter the world.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done
marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous
deeds;
His right hand has won
victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done
marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his
salvation known:
in the sight of the nations
he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his
kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done
marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth
have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD,
all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done
marvelous deeds.
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Commentary on Ps
98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
Psalm 98 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. We see in
this selection how God is praised for the strength he lends his people and the
salvation he brings to those who are faithful. It is also a song of victory
that is attributed to the Lord and one of awe for the deeds he has done on
behalf of his people. We can relate the victory to the unblemished creation of
the Blessed Mother.
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Reading II: Ephesians
1:3-6, 11-12
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.
In love he destined us for
adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of
his will,
for the praise of the glory
of his grace
that he granted us in the
beloved.
In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the
purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things
according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for
the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
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Commentary on Eph
1:3-6, 11-12
Paul speaks to
the Ephesians about their adoption by God as sons and daughters. He relates in
typical Pauline fashion the omnipotence and timelessness of God’s knowledge and
actions. The emphasis in this selection is “Chosen”. We were chosen (“…to be holy and without blemish before him.”) to accomplish His will just as he chose
the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the unblemished vessel of our Savior Jesus
Christ.
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Gospel: Luke
1:26-38
In the sixth month, 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.
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Commentary on Lk
1:26-38
This passage from St. Luke’s
Gospel is the story of Mary being informed by the Archangel Gabriel that she
has been chosen for the great privilege of baring the Savior of the World. St.
Mary graciously accepts this honor although with very human fear indicating
that her free will is at play – making her obedience to God’s will more
powerful. It is proposed that with this acceptance, Mary entered into a vow of
perpetual virginity because of the demands of Isaiah 7:14 (“Therefore the Lord himself will give
you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name
him Immanuel.”)
In St. Luke’s story of the
Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her she will bear a
son and names him Jesus (the eternal implication of this statement is made
clear in the greeting which presupposes knowledge of Mary’s entire existence).
Mary confirms the title “Virgin” given by the author as she questions Gabriel
saying; “How can this be, since I have not relations with a man?” Even
though she does not understand Mary accepts her role and is told that the Holy
Spirit will be the agent of the life within her and utters those amazing words:
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according
to your word."
This announcement is parallel to
Zechariah’s news about John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-23), which is also
delivered by the Angel Gabriel. This passage clearly identifies Jesus as Son of
David and Son of God thus linking it with the messianic predictions from the
Old Testament.
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Reflection:
This feast
confounds many of the faithful because of language. It is one of the few
“Infallible” pronouncements of our Pontiffs and is probably the most
misunderstood. It is, therefore, critical that we approach this event
didactically, that is with a teaching mentality.The common misconception by many Catholics and a vast majority of non-Catholics is that, first the feast of the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus’ conception. This is due to the language used. Immaculate Conception, in the mind of most people, refers to the situation we heard in the Gospel today, that is, conception without sex. Since the best known biblical example of that taking place is the conception of Jesus, that’s what many people think. Even when the full name of the solemnity is used - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, people are still confused since she was the vessel of the Lord.
Let us then set the record straight. This
feast is a celebration of the singular gift of grace (“Hail, favored one!”)
given to Mary, the Virgin Mother of God (Theotokis). The second great
misconception about this solemnity is about the gift itself. Because the
conception of Christ was done through the power of the Holy Spirit, without any
will of human industry, it is assumed by many Catholics that the same is true
of the pronouncement of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. That is, her conception
was accomplished without relations between her parents, Anne and Joachim. This
is not the case.
The promulgation of the Immaculate Conception
states;
The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul. [4]
The doctrinal pronouncement is clear:
We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.[5]
This was the intent of Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, pronounced by
Pope Pius IX.
Where does this understanding of the intent
of the proclamation of the Solemnity lead us?
What spiritual benefit do we derive from this understanding of God’s
wish for us? Clearly “God so loved the world that that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have
eternal life.” (John 3:16)
The Church since the very beginning has
understood the unique role the Mother of God has had in her role as vessel for
the Son of God’s incarnation. It is ironic
that, in order to reconcile logical arguments that sought to challenge her exalted
role and to reestablish our highest veneration that this misunderstood infallible
dogmatic statement was made.
For those of us who have faith in the savior,
we find no need to explore the deep logic that followed the thread of St. Mary’s
elevated state of grace through all of the theological twists and turns that
supported the pronouncement made in Ineffabilis
Deus. We take on faith the wondrous
love the Blessed Virgin Mary has for the Father. We understand
her obedience captured so perfectly with the opening words of the Magnificat
(the Canticle of Mary) “My soul (magnifies) proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my savior.” (Luke
1:46-47)
We celebrate this day as a Solemnity – a solemn
feast – a day dedicated to the faithfulness and love of the Theotokis, the
Mother of God who fulfilled her role with heroic virtue and cemented her place
as queen of heaven. Today we thank her
for the blessed fruit of her womb without whom we would have no life.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used today is “Immaculate Conception” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo,
1767-69
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
Ineffabilis Deus
[5]
ibid
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