Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 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, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

Mary is full of grace and is always willing to intercede with God when we are in need of graces in our own lives. She has the unique experience of being born without original sin, but what we often forget is that just like Adam and Eve who were created in a state of original justice, she too would have had temptations. The difference between Mary and Adam and Eve is she chose to obey God and make her fiat to Him without reservation. She might not have understood what it meant to become Jesus’ mother, especially the trials and tribulations of his life, passion, and death. However, we can be confident she would have accepted them and the sorrows his suffering caused her, knowing the glory and salvation that would flow from Christ’s sacrifice would be worth the cost. Mary is also our spiritual mother and when she sees us suffering and struggling in our lives she will not abandon us. She will come to our aid if we call out for her intercession. So let us accept Jesus’ gift of his mother to all his disciples and allow her to comfort and protect us in our times of need and fill us with the graces we need to overcome all our trials.

Are we willing to make our lives a living “Yes!” to God just as Mary did? Do we seek her out in pray to help intercede for us in our times of need? Do we accept her as our graceful mother, who is always at our side?

O Lord, thank you for the gift of your graceful mother.

Amen.