Friday, December 08, 2006

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary


Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Information about the Immaculate Conception
Readings for Friday

Commentary:

Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15, 20

We find Adam and Eve 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.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

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. Given to us on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception we can relate the factory to the unblemished creation of the Blessed Mother.

Reading II Eph 1:3-6, 11-12

Paul speaks to the Ephesians about there adoption by God as His 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.

Gospel Lk 1:26-38

We are given here the story of Mary being told she had been chosen and accepting the great privilege of baring the Savior of the World. This “announcement is parallel to the Zechariah’s news about John the Baptist, also delivered by the Angel Gabriel. This passage clearly identifies Jesus as Son of David and Son of God thus linking it with the predictions from the Old Testament.

Also very important in this story is Mary’s incredulous response; “’How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?’" This establishes her virgin status and is a declaration of the Spirit’s role in the conception.

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.
[1]

This was the intent of Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, pronounced by Pope Pius IX.

There is much more to be understood about the great gift God gives us in The Blessed Mother of the Church. Much more is misunderstood about her role in the Church, our lives, and the life of the world. Today we give thanks for that gift. Oh, and today is a Holy Day of Obligation so get to Mass.

Pax
[1] Catholic Encyclopedia; 1917

No comments: