“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the
angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great
and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob
forever and his reign shall have no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be if I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born shall be called Son of God. Even your
relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child, and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is
impossible.” Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate
Conception. This doctrine was proclaimed by Pius IX
in 1854 in the bull Ineffabilis Deus. This is an important
article of our faith. It teaches that Mary, conceived by her
parents in the old fashioned way is without the stain of
corrupting original sin. This teaching, although seen by
some as an innovation by Catholic standards, as it’s
only been on the books since the 1850s is firmly rooted in
scripture, if only symbolically (the ark of the covenant
was made of incorruptible wood, and even those who
carried it were thought to be “sanctified”). Since she will
be the Mother of God in the future after her birth, she is
prepared by God as a worthy receptacle of the Son. And
this is not through her merit but because of the Son she
will bear in the future. Hence, any Marian doctrine or title
will always refer to the Son and not to the Mother.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021