Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - Dec. 8: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (transferred to Monday 12/9 if 12/8 is a Sunday of Advent )
[Gen 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38]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 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, sp that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. [Ephesians]
The feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a holyday of obligation in the U.S.A. because under that title, Mary is considered the "patron saint" of our country. There is an impressive shrine in Washington, DC, that testifies to the importance given to this particular dogmatic tradition in our faith. Put simply, Mary was, from the moment of her conception, not subject to the state of "original sin" that all human persons inherited from Adam and Eve. Her status as the Mother of God had to preclude such a fate. The quotation from Ephesians notes God's providential power that could encompass this. Reflection and debate about this tradition lasted a long time because it was only in 1854 that Pope Pius IX declared this truth to be part of our deposit of faith.
The gospel scripture for today focuses on the conception of Jesus! But God's providential power again is presented in Mary's consent. One might point, instead, to the Canticle of Mary ("the Magnificat") as perhaps a better choice, and I would urge the Beloved Congregation to read that in conjunction with this feast [Luke 1:46-55]. Since there is a tradition that calls Mary the "New Eve" and Genesis refers to Eve as the "Mother of all the living," we may celebrate this feast as one of many "Mother's Days" for the Mother of God. AMEN