Feast of
the Immaculate Conception – December 8
The
following Homily was given by Fr. Herbert Nicholls on December 8th
at the Mother of the Light Convent
On this 8th
of December, nine months before her birth we celebrate the beginning of life
for Mary as a person, a person who would ultimately agree to the plan of God to
become the mother of His divine Son.
Kekaratomena Miriam. The greeting of the angel traditionally translated
as full of or filled with grace. Why have modern translations preferred to use
“favored”? Some might see an objection that only God Himself is full of grace.
Still others might object to the very existence of grace itself. In reality,
kekaratomena can be translated as either favor or grace. Both are correct.
For Mary the favor or
grace of her immaculate state of being, from the moment of her conception is a
call to holiness. In one sense It is unique—for her and for no other; but in
another sense it is the same call to holiness for all of us. I came across an
explanation I had never seen before.
Because of original sin all of us are in a fallen
state of being. We participate in sin in one way or another. We are in need of
Christ’s Redemption. Mary, by the grace of God, being preserved from original
sin was nonetheless in need of redemption like every human person; but in her
case it was uniquely applied to her by anticipation—for us it is by
participation.
Pope St. John Paul the
Great once wrote: From the very first
moment of her conception, she belonged to Christ. Sharing in His grace. Because
of her distinction, her obedience, she is redeemed in a more exalted fashion.
This does not make Mary any less human. She is not a goddess to be adored. Mary
herself sings of God as we have heard so many times: “My Savior who has done
great things for me; Holy is His Name”.
When we read the
dialogue between the angel Gabriel and Mary it is striking to note not
so much how holy, immaculate and clean that Mary is—but rather how free
she is to respond to the call of God.
She who was highly
favored and full of grace was not faking humility. For God had looked upon her
lowliness; and that is why He chose her.
Still a young woman,
barely older than a child, she does not allow her human limitations to become
an obstacle. She asks a very logical question: How can this be? I have not had relations with a man! Then comes
the totally unexpected answer: the power
of the Most High will overshadow you; and the child conceived shall be called
the Son of God.
Nothing further could
hold her back from saying yes to God! Not fear or pride or even false humility.
She said so simply: Be it done to me as
you say!
Would we be as free?
NO! But we do not have the grace of Immaculate Conception either! But we have
been redeemed by Christ through participation in Holy Baptism. We have the
potential for the same freedom which Mary had through anticipation. The same
grace of God is at work in us.
What is it then that
holds us back from responding to God’s call to us? Is it because we need an
angel sent from Heaven to convince us? Even then would we be convinced? Is it
fear? Is it pride? Is it false humility?
Pope Benedict XVI
wrote: it is not enough to profess belief
in Jesus Christ with words alone. The most profound statement of our belief is
the manner in which we live our lives; a journey which is punctuated by daily
opportunities to profess one’s faith by saying yes to God!
The message of the
Gospel for this feast is not un-coincidental to the message of the season of
the Glorious Birth of Christ which we anticipate. It is in that context that we
prepare for the Incarnation of the world’s Savior. It is one of joyful hope.
Mary is like the dawn that precedes the morning of new life in Christ. We
celebrate both to emphasize and honor the close link between the miracle of the
Immaculate Conception and the miraculous incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we let Him—if we
give God permission to do His will, God can do mighty things for us. But in all
of His grace, He can do little for us if we are unwilling to say as Mary did: Let it be done to me as you say!
We honor Mary as the
Mother of God and as our Mother, our intercessor, like any loving Mother; we
should ask today, every day, but especially today, to help us name those things
which prevents us from being truly free, from being favored by God, from being
filled with grace, so we too can cry: Let
it be as you say!