THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

This Thursday we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is rather sad that many Catholics seem to think of the phrase “Immaculate Conception” in negative terms—merely that Mary was conceived without Original Sin. When the Angel Gabriel came to Her he hailed Her as “Full of Grace”. Grace is God’s very life in our souls, so the angel spoke in very positive terms. A newly baptised infant or a baptised adult with severe disabilities can be said to be without sin, but we would say far more about the Virgin Mary.

If we think about the Lord’s Prayer, we can understand this better. As we pray “Thy Kingdom come” we pray that God’s reign may be fully realised in our lives. We pray that not only will all evil be absent, but that our lives will be full of His peace, justice and beauty. This is what happens when God reigns within us; we are perfectly conformed to His will “on earth as it is in heaven.” How true this is of Our Blessed Lady.

When we think of Mary Immaculate we think of one who lived life as God intended it—she answered the call to be truly human just as Her Son was truly human in all things but sin. This is why certain spiritual authors, in line with many of the Fathers of the early Church, spoke of Mary as being the Second Eve. Created in beauty and goodness. She shared fully in God’s life just as Eve did before the Fall.

Let Mary Immaculate be a source of inspiration for us all this Adventide to rid ourselves of the sin which so often prevents God’s Kingdom from reigning is our lives.         ~    Fr. Paul Dobson