On the 25th of December we will celebrate Christmas and thus the birth of Christ. Mary gives birth to Christ who is God made man. In the words of Saint John's Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We call to mind how Mary was prepared by the Father to be a dwelling place which was fitting for God to come and dwell among us.
God coming to dwell with us out of love should be a moving reality for us to mediate upon. Thanks to the sin of Adam and Eve which we call Original Sin the doors to Heaven were closed. Yet, God chose to come and dwell with us and thus also die upon the cross in order that we may be redeemed.
Some deny that Mary was without sin, but how could we fathom that God would come to dwell inside a vessel which has been tainted by the reality of sin?
During this season we put so much thought into gifts and thus too how we will wrap them. We want our gift to be found acceptable to the one whom we give it too. We make sure that it is well wrapped in order that it will be found appealing to the senses of another. Through the Blessed Virgin Mary comes forth the great gift of God's love, the gift of God Himself. Do we really find it logical that such a wondrous gift as God Himself would come to dwell in the womb of one who has not been properly prepared for such a gift?
I do not know much about cooking, but who among us would take a dirty pan to cook a cake? This wouldn't make much sense because we would defile the cake that we want to make. In the same manner God is not defiled by a dwelling place that has been touched by sin. Rather, He chose the Blessed Virgin Mary to be this pure and spotless vessel in which God's love would be made manifest to all of us.
In the Old Testament God came to dwell in what was known as the Ark of the Covenant. Scripture lays out what this Ark is to look like and thus it takes on an ornate appearance for what it contains is the presence of God Himself. In like manner Mary becomes the new Ark of the Covenant for she was chosen to be the God bearer.
Therefore, in our Gospel we hear from the lips of an angel: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." We must remember that this word "grace" refers to a gift which is given by God and thus is unmerited. This statement is making a reference to today's celebration of the Immaculate Conception. For today we celebrate the fact that Mary is found to be "full of grace" which is to say that she has been perfected by the Father and thus is found without the stain of sin upon her soul and thus she is the fitting dwelling place for God to take on our human flesh.
May we turn our sight to the Blessed Virgin Mary that we may continue to prepare our heart and soul to receive this most wondrous gift of God's love which is the gift of God made Flesh.
