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Gospel Reading for December 9, 2024 – Luke 1: 26-38
FRUITION
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.” 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.
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Because December 8, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception fell on a Sunday of Advent, a Solemnity of our Lord, we are celebrating it today. Nonetheless, even our reverence, love and devotion to Mary, has to be centered on the Lord Jesus. She played a very important role in God’s plan of salvation because for Jesus to be born into the human family, he needed a human mother. And of course, God would choose ONLY THE BEST among those who could be mothers in Israel. For this, we are so grateful to her and we give her the honor that is due to her.
Some quarters criticize Catholics, saying we are worshipping Mary and we should not, because she is not God. This statement is true for those of us who put Mary first, before Jesus. At the wedding in Cana, when the host ran out of wine, did Mary command Jesus to turn the water into wine? She just presented the problem to Jesus, and told the servants to “do whatever he tells you” (John 2: 1-12). It was not Mary who was glorified, but it was Jesus who was glorified. It was his first of the many miracles he would do after that.
Mary is a classic model of what it is to be a follower of Jesus (she is the first). We always lead people to Jesus and tell them to do whatever Jesus says. When we honor Mary, we honor her because of Jesus. We are grateful to her because it was through her that God’s plan of salvation by making his Son Jesus live among us, reached FRUITION.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women.
Alleluia, alleluia.
