Nothing is Impossible for God

Feast of the Immaculate Conception; 8 December 2018

It is easy to see why many people are confused about the focus of this feast. This text announces the angel’s announcement to Mary that she will bear a son, who will be called the Son of the Most High. Is this why many people assume incorrectly that this feast commemorates Mary’s conception of Jesus? Rather, it focuses a full generation earlier in history, celebrating the circumstances of his mother’s life. A doctrinal feast, the Immaculate Conception celebrates Mary’s first moment of existence, in the womb of her mother, St Anne.

At a given moment in salvation history, God asked her to mother his Son. It was a demanding invitation and one which troubled her greatly. When she gave her reply to the angel Gabriel, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” the salvation process began and from her humanity came his flesh and blood. To be worthy of such an honour, God graced her with freedom from original sin from the first moment of her conception. Mary had to be immaculate, untouched by sin from the first moment of her birth. The mother who was carrying God’s son, not for herself but for a world in need, could have no hand, act or part in sin.

The grace Mary received at conception, we receive at baptism. For most of us, home is where that gift must blossom first of all, not only in childhood but throughout our lives. To help another person to be tuned to God’s individual call to them, is to equip them for life’s most important purpose.

As we praise God today for Mary’s Immaculate Conception, we thank him for the gift of our baptismal faith. Our own seed of faith may be dormant or blossoming. Either way, now is a good time to enrich it so that we may be on God’s wavelength in every aspect of our lives. It would be tragic to be tuned to a third rate programme for life while God was inviting us on another channel to greatness and glory. Fine tuning the heart to God every day is the only way to a fulfilling life experience. Mary never settled for less. Neither should we.