The Immaculate Conception, which unites Mary to God and to each one of us- Vigil of the Nativity (2023-12-24)

Introduction

Tomorrow, we are going to celebrate Christmas. Before we meditate on the Birth of Our Lord Jesus tomorrow, today I would like to talk about the One who gave birth to Jesus, namely the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady has been prepared by God to become the worthy Mother of Christ by being granted the privilege of the Immaculate Conception. I will talk about the relationship between Immaculate Conception and fullness of grace, and then about how, through her Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary is closer to God and to each one of us more than anybody, except Our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Immaculate Conception and fullness of grace

What is holiness? The word "holiness" means "separation from others and consecration to God". A church, for example, is said to be holy because it is a place consecrated to God, not to be used for secular activities. Somebody’s holiness consists in being consecrated to God and doing all his actions for the love of God. The holier somebody is, the more united he is with God.

Holiness can be considered in a negative and in a positive aspect. In its negative aspect, holiness means being pure from sin, from everything that separates us from God. In its positive aspect, holiness means the grace by which we are made pleasing to God, ourselves and all our actions. Although we distinguish between these two aspects, they are necessarily connected, because we are simultaneously made pure from sin and pleasing to God by grace.

When we consider Our Lady’s holiness, we do it on these two aspects. In its negative aspect, her holiness is her Immaculate Conception and her impeccability. In its positive aspect, her holiness is her fullness of grace. These are two aspects of the same holiness, so that to celebrate the Immaculate Conception is also to celebrate Mary's fullness of grace, and vice versa. This explains why the Church has chosen for the Gospel of the Mass of the Immaculate Conception the story of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel said to Mary: "Hail, full of grace".

Now let us see how, besides Jesus, Mary is more united to God than any other creature by virtue of her Immaculate Conception and her fullness of grace.

By her Immaculate Conception, Mary is more united to God than any other person besides Jesus.

Our Lady was conceived without original sin; she was not wounded by any of the consequences of original sin, which are ignorance, malice, weakness and concupiscence; Our Lady never committed even the slightest venial sin or imperfection during her entire earthly life. From the first moment of her conception, Mary was pure of everything that could hinder her union with God. She always made good use of her free-will, that is, she always chose to conform her will to that of God. So, God's plan of love for her could be carried without any obstacle or accident, from the first moment of her earthly life to the very last. Our Lady received without obstacle all the graces God had prepared for her. So, Mary is full of grace.

     

And this fullness of graces granted to Our Lady is superior to all the graces God grants to the angels and the saints. This should come as no surprise. God gives his graces to everybody according to his state, but there is no higher state for a creature than to be the Mother of God. Mary's fullness of grace means, first of all, her surpassing degree of sanctifying grace. The Blessed Virgin participates in the life of God more than any other creature. St. Bernard said that Mary is so united with God that she reaches the borders of the Divinity. Mary's fullness of grace means also her surpassing degree of virtues, gifts, privileges and actual graces, by which she participates in divine works more than any other. More than any other, Our Lady loves God with all her whole heart, soul and strength.

To celebrate Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception is to celebrate her supreme greatness above the Angels and Saints. But this greatness should not frighten us, or make us consider the Blessed Virgin as someone distant and inaccessible to us poor sinners. On the contrary, through her Immaculate Conception, Mary has become the closest, most loving and most attentive person to each and every one of us.

By her Immaculate Conception, Mary is more united to each of us than any other, besides Jesus.

The first reason is that love of our neighbor is inseparable from love of God. We cannot love God without loving our neighbor, whom God loves. So Our Lady, who loves God with all her heart, with all her strength and with all her soul, more than any other creature because of her Immaculate Conception and her fullness of grace, also loves us more than anyone else, besides Jesus. She wants our good, our eternal happiness. And just as Queen Esther used her union with King Assuerus to help her people, so Mary uses her union with Jesus to help us.

    

But more than that, because of her Immaculate Conception and her fullness of grace, Jesus could associate Our Lady in His work of Redemption and make her become the spiritual Mother of us all. It is because of her Immaculate Conception and her fullness of grace, that through the bond of maternity, Jesus could form a couple with Mary, like a new Adam and a new Eve, in order to give back to all men the supernatural life that Adam and Eve had lost. Jesus gives us supernatural life through Mary. Speaking of us all, Jesus said to Mary on the Cross: "Woman, behold thy son". At that moment, through her Immaculate Conception and her fullness of grace, Mary became not only the worthy Mother of God, but also the devoted Mother of all men, the most loving Mother of each and every one of us.

A visible sign of the reality of this deep and intimate bond that the Immaculate Conception establishes between Mary and us is the miraculous medal. This medal was nicknamed "miraculous" because of the many miracles granted to those who wore it with devotion. But whose medal is it? Of the Immaculate Conception.

Conclusion:

Through her Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary, not only has been raised to an exceptional greatness and dignity, not only has developed a perfect love for God, but also has developed an immense and personal love for each one of us. Our lady’s Immaculate Conception does not make her inaccessible, different from us. On the contrary, this marvelous privilege unites her marvelously to God on one side, and to each one of us on the other side. Through the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, Mary could become the worthy Mother of God and our spiritual mother. 

Today, let ask Our Lord Jesus for the grace to love sincerely and profoundly Mary our Mother. And tomorrow, let us ask Our Lady for the grace to love Jesus with our whole heart, and soul, and mind and strength.

fr. E. Demornex