As we celebrate the anticipation and hope of another Advent, it is always very fitting that at the beginning of the season we also observe the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This past year we have observed the 150th anniversary of the appearance of the Blessed Mother to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, France. During those apparitions, Mary revealed herself to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, an ancient and revered title for her that had been given the recognition of defined dogma only a few years before by Blessed Pope Pius IX.
It is no small source of confusion that several of our traditional holy days of obligation are not observed as days of obligation when they fall on a Saturday or a Monday. Thus, just last month the Solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, was not a holy day of obligation because the date fell on a Saturday this year.
However, since Mary is the Patroness of our United States of America under the title of her Immaculate Conception, we still observe the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception as a holy day of obligation, even when it falls, as it does this year, on a Monday. While these things can get confusing, it is sufficient to impress upon ourselves that this feast of the Immaculate Conception is a very special one for us Catholics. Even beyond the fact that she is the patroness of our country, this feast fits in so well with the season of Advent because it commemorates an event that had to take place before the Christmas event could even be contemplated.
When a human being is conceived in the mother’s womb, it is not just a miracle of natural life. At that moment, God creates another immortal soul. And this momentous occasion is so secret that no one can be precisely certain about when it takes place. At a particular point in time, in the typically secret manner of all human conception, Mary was conceived like every other human being. But unlike any other human being born of man and woman before or since, Mary was born without sin, by a special act of God.
As a result, she was redeemed in anticipation of the merits of the Cross of her Son, Jesus Christ. It was the first preliminary preparation for the eternal Word of God to share in humanity so that all of us could share in the very life of God.
While Mary is unique in the privilege of her Immaculate Conception, as she is unique in her vocation to be the Mother of God and the New Eve in the mystery of salvation, she is a model for every believer in the way God’s grace works in each of our lives. God’s grace is a pure gift and given by God totally at His initiative. The result of this divine action in the depths of our being draws us to walk closer with God and gives us the strength and the inclination to carry out whatever God wishes to accomplish in our lives. Until it begins to manifest itself by our virtuous behavior, this favor of God is something secret and unknown. And as powerful as God’s grace is, it can never overwhelm our God given free will.
While Mary’s favor from God was unique, it was not exclusive. Each of us receives the grace of salvation, each of us receives the grace of our vocation, each of us receives countless graces every day of our lives -- graces we are free to accept or ignore.
At this Advent time, let us recognize the powerful graces of God active in the silent depths of our being. Let us ask Mary to help us to imitate her in responding more completely to God’s grace in our lives. And may Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, help and protect our beloved country in this time of transition and challenge.
