“HAIL, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH YOU” (Luke 1:28)

⏰The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 December 2017)

????Gen 3:9-15, 20; Ps 98:1-2, 3ab, 3cd-4 (R.v.1ab); Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26b-38

????”HAIL, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH YOU” (Luke 1:28)

You are surely not unfamiliar with the above quote. That is part of the wordings we use when we pray the Rosary. It was the greeting of the angel to Mary. Whenever we use those words, we recall the victory over Satan.

Many people are easily put off when we begin to talk about the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Most times, this attitude is borne out of a biased opinion about Catholics and Mary. Yet, in Mary, we only praise the Lord God who has done so great thing for her (Luke 1:49).

In that same light of praising God, in our celebration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the focus is on God who preserved Mary from the acquisition of the Original Sin.

Is that in the Bible? No, it is not stated verbatim but we can get that idea from some biblical and extra-biblical texts. The greeting of the angel to Mary, “Hail, full of grace” (Luke 1:28) is an indication of that.

Remember that God created everything good (Gen 1:31) and God placed man at the center of those good creation (Gen 2:15) but man lost the state of grace due to sin (Gen 3:1-24). So why should the angel still greet Mary as full of grace?

Beyond that, Jesus Christ is God who took our nature as man (Phil 2:7) but without sin (Heb 4:15). If everyone shares in Adam’s sin by birth, Jesus would only have been free of that sin if Mary was preserved from sin.

Those are the wonders of the Lord and they are marvelous in our eyes (Ps 118:23).

Remember that that was also the condition in which Adam and Eve were created but by the abuse of their freewill, they fell out of that grace. Mary on the other hand chose to cooperate with God (Luke 1:38).

We too can chose either to cooperate with God and strive after holiness of life or remain and perish in sin. That decision is for everyone to make individually. I have decided to follow Jesus; what about you?

May the spirit of God inspire and sustain in you, the decision to follow him faithfully in holiness of life. Amen.

Have a memorable celebration today. It is important for everyone to attend Mass today. Peace be with you.