December 9, 2013

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patronal Feastday of the United States of America 
Lectionary: 689
Reading 1 GN 3:9-15, 20

After the man, Adam,

Adam and Eve were both created without sin.  The only other people who were conceived without sin are Jesus and Mary.

had eaten of the tree,

God had given Adam a command forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam disobeyed.

the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”

 After Adam had disobeyed God and eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God called to him.  At this point in the story, Adam was hiding from God.

He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”

After Adam ate from the tree, he became aware that he was unclothed.I

After Adam had eaten from the tree, his is human nature fundamentally changed. God created Adam in a condition of "original justice". When Adam disobeyed God's command, he entered a condition of "original sin". Disobeying God's commands is a sin. 

Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”

He became aware of his nakedness because he had eaten from the tree.

The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.

The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

When God asked him, he blamed Eve for disobeying God's command. Eve in her turn, blamed the serpent.

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”

There was first mentioned the coming of the Messiah. The seed of the woman is our Lord was born of woman.

The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.

With the title, "the mother of all the living", Eve foreshadows the mother of God, Mary who is the mother of those who proclaim the gospel and keep the Commandments.  In other words, the mother of those who live in the kingdom of God.

Responsorial Psalm PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4

R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.

R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.

R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

God has done marvelous deeds. In his most marvelous work is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Reading 2 EPH 1:3-6, 11-12

Brothers and sisters:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,

Mary the mother of God was chosen by God before the foundation of the world.

to be holy and without blemish before him.

Before the foundations of the world, God chose all who would be united to him in the Catholic Church. He knew that he would bathe us in the spiritual waters of baptism and cleanse us of our sins.

Before the foundations of the world, God chose Mary to be immaculately conceived and to be the perfect image of that church which is called the bride of Christ. Mary is the image of what the church should be.

In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.

Mary the mother of God, is also the symbol of the nation of Israel which is called "daughter Zion". Mary is the true daughter of the Father. The perfect image of the church and of Israel.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.

Mary the mother of God was assumed into heaven and is the first fruits of all the Elect who were chosen by God.

Gospel LK 1:26-38

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.”

What we see here is an angel from heaven sent by God to praise the Virgin Mary.

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.”

The angel informed Mary that she would be the mother of God, the son of God.

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.

At first Mary was concerned because she had had no relations with a man.  But the angel explained that the child will be born of the Holy Spirit.

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.

And Mary gave her Fiat, her agreement, her obedience to the word of God.

The entire section showed that God sent an angel to proclaim the blessedness of Mary. This is in Scripture which is the word of God. In other words, it is God who praised Mary through the angel. The angel is only a messenger passing along God's word.

If God wills an Angel to praise Mary, how much more should we do so.