Doctrinal Information about the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis 3:9-15, 20
The LORD God then 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 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.
Contained here is the scriptural evidence of Original Sin. The story is also called “The Fall” as God’s human creation (personified in Adam and Eve) falls from grace and is condemned to suffer the struggle to regain the blessed state throughout history. Mankind has said no to God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
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 victory to the unblemished creation of the Blessed Mother.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
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.
In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Paul speaks to the Ephesians about their 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: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 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, and is also delivered by the Angel Gabriel. This passage clearly identifies Jesus as Son of David and Son of God thus linking it with the messianic 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:
The Candle of Love now joins the Candle of Hope giving light to the darkness!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3: 16) We recognize that this passage is not selected for today (and we don’t like it when homilists deliver a sermon rather than a homily.[5]). However, in this Advent season, as we wait in breathless anticipation for the celebration of the Lord’s nativity, the event that started the chain of events leading to our salvation needs theological grounding. St. John, quoting Jesus, provides the context.
On this day we recall in St. Luke’s Gospel, the first evidence of God’s plan for the new revelation being put into action. It actually begins many years before that incarnating event that takes place in Bethlehem, in the manger. The angel of the Lord comes to Mary, a young lady looking forward to marriage and a prosperous life with Joseph. With God’s love for the world demonstrated in his own sacrifice, the Most High entrusts himself to us in Mary’s womb.
We see in grand strokes how God prepares the world for his revelation. Millennium before this event takes place it is predicted by the Prophets. God, who sees time in a way we cannot understand, will have prepared the vessel in which he must reside. It must be free of sin, even that sin that had been passed down since the fall of man from grace. That logical beginning is why the fall is also mentioned in scripture today. If sin had not entered the world, if mankind had not succumbed to the temptation of the evil one and fallen from grace, God would not have needed to see that grace restored. The need for him to so violently express his love that he would send his only Son in to the world would not have existed.
But the fall from grace did occur. Mankind, given free will as the Father created them in his own image, chose disobedience rather than the idyllic life in complete harmony with the Creator. From that time forward, all of mankind was afflicted by that nature. Only one birth was miraculously free from the stain of sin. God so loved the world that he gave his Son. But perfect love must be delivered from perfect love and there must be not hint of the fallen nature of mankind associated with it.
To accomplish this immaculate and spotless womb, God graced Sts. Joachim and Anne, Mary’s parents, with a child, born free of original sin; a vessel with only one purpose, the production of the Son of God. We celebrate that singular gift of grace today and ask the Blessed Mother, filled with grace, to pray for us, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Pax
Readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis 3:9-15, 20
The LORD God then 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 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.
Contained here is the scriptural evidence of Original Sin. The story is also called “The Fall” as God’s human creation (personified in Adam and Eve) falls from grace and is condemned to suffer the struggle to regain the blessed state throughout history. Mankind has said no to God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
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 victory to the unblemished creation of the Blessed Mother.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
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.
In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Paul speaks to the Ephesians about their 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: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 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, and is also delivered by the Angel Gabriel. This passage clearly identifies Jesus as Son of David and Son of God thus linking it with the messianic 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:
The Candle of Love now joins the Candle of Hope giving light to the darkness!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3: 16) We recognize that this passage is not selected for today (and we don’t like it when homilists deliver a sermon rather than a homily.[5]). However, in this Advent season, as we wait in breathless anticipation for the celebration of the Lord’s nativity, the event that started the chain of events leading to our salvation needs theological grounding. St. John, quoting Jesus, provides the context.
On this day we recall in St. Luke’s Gospel, the first evidence of God’s plan for the new revelation being put into action. It actually begins many years before that incarnating event that takes place in Bethlehem, in the manger. The angel of the Lord comes to Mary, a young lady looking forward to marriage and a prosperous life with Joseph. With God’s love for the world demonstrated in his own sacrifice, the Most High entrusts himself to us in Mary’s womb.
We see in grand strokes how God prepares the world for his revelation. Millennium before this event takes place it is predicted by the Prophets. God, who sees time in a way we cannot understand, will have prepared the vessel in which he must reside. It must be free of sin, even that sin that had been passed down since the fall of man from grace. That logical beginning is why the fall is also mentioned in scripture today. If sin had not entered the world, if mankind had not succumbed to the temptation of the evil one and fallen from grace, God would not have needed to see that grace restored. The need for him to so violently express his love that he would send his only Son in to the world would not have existed.
But the fall from grace did occur. Mankind, given free will as the Father created them in his own image, chose disobedience rather than the idyllic life in complete harmony with the Creator. From that time forward, all of mankind was afflicted by that nature. Only one birth was miraculously free from the stain of sin. God so loved the world that he gave his Son. But perfect love must be delivered from perfect love and there must be not hint of the fallen nature of mankind associated with it.
To accomplish this immaculate and spotless womb, God graced Sts. Joachim and Anne, Mary’s parents, with a child, born free of original sin; a vessel with only one purpose, the production of the Son of God. We celebrate that singular gift of grace today and ask the Blessed Mother, filled with grace, to pray for us, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is “Gabriel from the Annunciation” by Filippino Lippi, 1483-84
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved
[5] Sermon is a talk given usually with a moral premise using scripture quotes to support it. A homily is talk delivered reflecting upon scripture previously provided.
No comments:
Post a Comment