“ The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”
- Pope Pius IX
First Reading: Gen. 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, 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.
Res. Psalm: Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Second Reading: Eph. 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.
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee 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, favored one! 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.
Reflection
By Nats Vibiesca
The cliché “it is better to give than to receive” maybe true, but actually I seldom practice it. Many of us rather receive than give. We fail to realize that all that we have and all we are, came from God and before we can ever give, we receive first from the merciful and loving God. If ever we give, it is not actually giving but simply sharing with others what we have received from God. Many times when we give, our thoughts automatically search for what we can get in return and this becomes a vicious condition.
Mama Mary, being aware and ever grateful to God’s blessings, unconditionally shared with us the abundance God gave her. By saying “yes” to God’s invitation from angel Gabriel, she disposes total and unconditional blessing for all of us mankind. Come to think of it, what will happen to us if Mama Mary did not accept the plan of God? Whenever I pray the first Joyful mystery of the Holy Rosary, I always remind myself that the “yes” of Mama Mary was an unconditional cooperation to God’s plan of infinite mercy for our salvation.
Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854 as a dogma of faith which explains that God preserves Mama Mary from any stain of sin right from the first moment of her conception in her mother’s womb.
To say “yes” to God’s invitation is not always easy but when we look at Mama Mary as our model of unconditional submission to God’s will, like Mama Mary we can also say “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Lord, we are beneficiaries ourselves--beneficiaries of Your love and blessings, help us to share with others what we have received from You and become someone’s benefactor. And may the Immaculate Conception guide us in sharing unconditionally among those who need most of Your blessings. Amen.
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