Mary’s heart was purely the Lord’s, from the very spark of her creation. The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being conceived without sin, although its commonly thought to refer to Christ’s conception, that is a myth! When I hear the word immaculate, I always think of someone’s home that is cleaner than you could imagine, with sparkling counter tops and pillows fluffed to perfection! Definitely not my home! This clean, dazzling image we associate with that word immaculate is a great start to understanding Mary. The angel Gabriel addressed her as ‘Mary, full of grace’. God had conceived this design for Mary that was so perfect that she lacked no grace- she was completely full of God’s grace. She didn’t have the emptiness caused by sin that we all experience. She was of immaculate design. And perhaps the most beautiful part about reflecting on Mary is not her own sinlessness, but that her entire being was consecrated to God from day one. Her perfection and joy leads us directly to God, for she wouldn’t have been the Immaculate Conception if Jesus was not the end goal! In all she does, we see her leading us closer to her son. Think for a second about Mary’s Fiat- her yes to God when she says, “Let it be done unto me.” Do you have an image in your head? My guess is that you thought of the beautiful night when the Angel came to announce to Mary that she would carry Jesus Christ. But Mary’s fiat was not limited to that moment. I’ve heard it said that Mary wouldn’t even have had to say anything when the Angel asked her to give birth to Christ, because her entire life was a ‘yes’ to God. Wouldn’t it be amazing if our lives could that open to Christ.
While during Advent we often focus on the coming joy of the nativity, it is important to keep the cross in our hearts. Mary and Jesus journeyed together on this Earth toward the cross, as do we. The pinnacle of Christ’s love for us, of salvation history as a whole is held in the cross. When he willingly gave of Himself for us, Mary was there, willingly giving of herself for Him. She stood at the foot of the cross, with all the joy and agony mixing in her heart from her life lived with her Son, with all the knowledge and grace God gave her, her whole life leading to this moment of Fiat. And she said YES. We wait for our Savior in the manger, and we live with the knowledge of why He came. Let us sit at the foot of the cross with Mary this Advent. - Emily Gignac, Director of Faith Formation
0 Comments
|
Archives
November 2018
Categories
All
|