Word to the Wise
Friday, December 8, 2006 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception
[Genesis 3:9-15; Ephesians 1:3-6; Luke 1:26-38]Hail, full of Grace! The Lord is with you.
Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. Some notions seem to survive the centuries fairly intact in their meaning. One such notion is "status." Along with "status" the notion of "perks" (perquisites) has survived very well. We see it in politics all the time, but we also hear the line, "It comes with the job." Indeed "status" may come with birth, as in the notion of "royal birth." Usually the status is conferred from parent to child, but occasionally the child confers the status on the parent. This is the case with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The theological argument is relatively simple. God could not be born of a person who was born in original sin. Therefore God's mother had to be free of original sin from HER conception. So, Mary's status as mother of Jesus conferred on her the "perk" of freedom from original sin. At least that is the argument that prevailed from centuries of debate which were put to rest by the declaration in 1854 of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Whether or not this particular truth about the mother of God enters signifcantly into the private, or even corporate, piety of many Catholics does not change the nature of the truth. Mary, like Jeremiah, was called from her own mother's womb to a prophetic destiny. This "perk" did not spare her from suffering. If anything, it made her more accessible to those who look for a mother figure in spirituality. On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we take a moment to celebrate this remarkable woman, a gift to our faith. AMEN
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