Reminders from the Solemnity
9th December, 2013: The Universal Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother today, yesterday having been a Sunday of Advent.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother - the dogma of faith that Mary, from the moment that she was conceived in her mother's womb, was preserved without the stain of original sin. The celebration of today has 3 reminders for us:
Reminder 1: God's plan for each of us is eternal! God chose to preserve Mary even before she was born, from the moment of her passing from non existence to existence! How true when the Word says, 'You know me even before my bones were being formed in the womb of my mother.' God knows each of us and has a mysterious plan for us from eternity. Is it not true that God has chosen us before the foundations of the world, as St. Paul says.
Reminder 2: It was indeed a grace that Mary was spared from the stain of original sin, but she on her part remained faithful, sinless and wholly belonging to God all her life that she brought this grace of holiness, right upto the end of her life when she was found worthy of another grace - that of Assumption. We were freed from the bond of original sin too, at our baptism. Is it not our duty to bring this baptismal innocence right through to the end of our life that we can find ourselves in the company of saints and angels in union with God almighty!
Reminder 3: For Mary it was a remote preparation to behold the Son of God within her in God's own time. The feast occurs during Advent and reminds us that we are in that place too... to prepare ourselves to behold the Son of God, who wishes to be born in our lives this Christmas.
The Message is clear: God has chosen me from eternity to belong to God. It is my faithful response to this call that will determine my status as God's son or daughter. When I listen to God's word and live by it, God dwells in me, God's word will be born in me, making me the dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple of the Living God!