FULL OF GRACE

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Luke 1:38
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
---------------------------------------------

The Immaculate Conception is a doctrine of the Catholic Church in regards to the Blessed Virgin Mary. An official statement of the doctrine reads, “…the blessed Virgin Mary to have been, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Savior of Mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.” Essentially, the Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary was protected from original sin.

Mary was indeed favored and full of grace. The Lord of heaven and earth had prepared and chosen her as a fertile ground into which he planted the seed of His Word. Angels still visit those who believe that grace is real and available, the favor and blessing of God. They come, bearing God’s message to men and women are humble enough to open themselves to its dynamic, sanctifying and transforming action.

Each of us is now called to become full of grace. The Lord desires to be with us, to live within us in a world that hungers for His love—a love which can be borne in us and offered through us to others. Mary shows us the way. She heard the promise, believed, was filled with grace, and conceived the Lord who is Love incarnate. We can do likewise if we learn to pray, to listen, to hear, to respond, to say “Yes”. In doing so we, like Mary, will discover that “nothing is impossible with God.”

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end.

Amen +

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous deeds.