We venerate our Blessed Mother on this Solemnity of her Immaculate Conception
Reflections on the readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (December 8, 2020): GN 3:9-15,20; PS 98:1,2-3,4; EPH 1:3-6,11-12; LK 1:26-38
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days
The original sin that brought death and destruction among God’s people would never touch the Blessed Virgin.
Today we honor the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While the universal Church celebrates today, it is a special day for the people of several countries including the United States of America because she is our particular patron. Indeed, the Bishops of this country chose Mary under this title eight years before Pope Pius IX issued the 1854 statement in which the Church formally recognized the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. It said: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant 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.”
Almighty God has worked through eternity for the salvation of His children. When our first parents disobeyed Him, our Heavenly Father did not give up on us. In today’s second reading we hear that, “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” (Ephesians 1:4-6). God selected Mary of Nazareth to be the one who would carry His Son into the world. To be worthy of this great trust, she was spared the stain of evil. The original sin that brought death and destruction among God’s people would never touch the Blessed Virgin. Through God’s unique grace she became a channel for His grace as the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In her humble trust and profound love for God, Mary’s cooperation made possible the fulfillment of the Divine Will in redeeming the human race. From the cross, her Son even gave His cherished mother, this loving, immaculate virgin, to us as her own children. We can thank Him for this treasured gift as we honor the Immaculate Conception of Mary on this feast.
Suggested missionary action: We can offer a World Mission Rosary to revere the Blessed Virgin Mary on this feast, to ask her protection for missionaries and to thank her for her service to Almighty God and all of His people on earth.
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