Today, we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. We honor the grace given by Jesus to his mother at her conception to prepare her for her role in our salvation, making her into a fit dwelling place for himself. She was conceived without original sin and was given a fullness of grace as a first fruit of Christ’s redemptive work. To mark this festive and solemn day, today we will lift our normal Friday disciplines of fasting and abstinence from meat. Instead, make sure to celebrate this day with family and friends.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God. Listen to his voice in obedience today. Take one minute of silence now, praying for God’s blessing on you, your family, fraternity, and all Exodus Men.
May the splendor of your glory dawn in our hearts, we pray Almighty God, that all shadows of the night may be scattered and we may be shown to be children of the light by the advent of your Only Begotten Son. Amen.
The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
A Reading from the Book of Genesis
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the Lord God 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.
Reflection
In the midst of Advent, the Church points us to Our Lady as the one who embodies Israel’s expectation of the Messiah. Her yes at the Annunciation, “let it be done (fiat) to me according to your word,” reverses the sin of Eve, with her no to God’s plan. It overcomes the no of Israel given over the centuries in failing to follow God’s Law and his plan for his people. She is the one who listens and responds, willing to act as a fit instrument for the Lord’s work.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception commemorates Mary’s conception in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. According to the Church’s Sacred Tradition, Mary was conceived without original sin, meaning that she was full of God’s grace from the first moment of her life. She was saved by God in a different way. Rather than falling into sin, like us, and coming back to God, he reached out to her in advance to preserve her from this fall by giving her an abundance of grace within the womb. She lived her entire life completely for her Son, cooperating with his work of salvation to the fullest extent.
Mary was given this singular grace because of her role as the Mother of God. Just as the work in constructing the tabernacle had to be done perfectly, according to the model shown to Moses, and just as the offering made by the Israelite priests had to be without blemish, so was God’s work in making himself a new tabernacle in the world done with perfection and without any blemish. He made Mary perfect for himself so that her heart would be completely in accord with his own. Her whole life was a great yes or fiat to God on behalf of God’s people.
As we see at the foot of the Cross, Mary became the Mother of the beloved disciple. This disciple stands for all of us. Mary is the Mother of all the living, because those who are saved are members of Christ’s body. We receive everything that Jesus has: his divine Spirit, his Body and Blood, and his Mother as well. For this reason, we rejoice in the feast because, through its grace, we receive a spotless mother, the perfect tabernacle of God, who models how we too must make a fiat to follow him with our whole lives.
The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
Let us pray.
Lord, help us to imitate the “yes” of your Mother. Dwell in us and make us to be your tabernacle in the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
During the Season of Advent, men from around the world are growing in the theological virtue of hope as they journey to Bethlehem with Joseph and Mary. Are you a man of hope? Join us for the rest of Advent!
