Homily for The Immaculate Conception
Fr. Albert
St. Peter’s, New Iberia, LA
Why? Why do we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary? I can think of three great reasons to do so.
First, because the glory of Mary always points to the glory of Christ. It is fitting that the woman who is meant to bear God Himself in her womb should be without any sin or defilement. When something is valuable to us, we often adorn it or place it in something that is also quite valuable. Like diamond for an engagement ring, it is fitting to place the diamond in a gold band or in some other precious metal.
God, offers his own son to us proof that he wants nothing more than for us to be joined to him for eternity. And, like a true lover, he offers us this most precious diamond of his son not by itself, but place in a most beautiful and untarnished gold band. So it is that God proposes eternal love to us with Mary as the ring that bears within herself the most precious stone of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Secondly, Mary is proof that such a thing as a sinless human being does exist. She is a model of holiness and a sign to us of the glory we will one day share with her in heaven. And her Immaculate Conception reaches its highest expression, its fullest meaning in a single act. It is the same action that sets her apart. And that one thing that marks the crucial difference between Eve who cost all of us Original Grace and Mary who brought all of a savior is obedience. Not only does Mary show us that sinlessness and purity exists, but she shows us that that sinlessness and purity is found in obedience to the law of God.
Genesis shows us Eve’s fall, but also a prophecy that her offspring would one day step on the head of the serpent which represents Satan. Though the serpent is just a symbol of evil, it is interesting that some polls place fear of snakes as the most common fear among adults, over 50%. And yet, how great it would be if anywhere near 50% of adults feared what the snake ultimately meant. How much better of would we be if we were mortally afraid of disobeying God and falling into sin. Mary has struck the head of the serpent, and the blow was delivered in five of the most famous words of human history: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum: “let it be done unto me according to thy will.”
Third, and most importantly, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of Mary because it is true. It is good. It is beautiful. Mary really was Immaculately conceived, and it is a beauty worthy of admiration. When we rejoice in any truth, goodness, or beauty that God has given to us, we glorify God. And that is the most important thing of all – to glorify God. That is why we have braved cold, and rain, and snow to be at Mass today. That is the very reason the liturgy of the mass exists, to glorify God.
And how great a day it has been to glorify God! It’s as if nature itself wanted to glorify God by rejoicing in the truth of the Immaculate Conception. Nature saw fit to begin this day by blanketing our world in a layer of pure white snow, reminding us of the unstained purity and sinlessness of our Blessed Mother.
It is truly right to rejoice in the glory of Mary which always serves to point us to the glory of her son. It is just to look to Mary as a model of holiness and an inspiration for sacred obedience. It is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to praise and thank God for the beauty of the Immaculate Conception and the great gift of Mary our Mother.
