What comes first

THis season of Advent we handed out books for the parishioners to help guide them in their reflection and help lead them to enter more deeply in to the season of advent waiting and anticipation.

NOw, as I a priest i don't always read this little books of reflections.  I have many things to read and sometimes they seem to much a nuisance.

Sounds terrible doesn't it.  A priest referring to books of reflection as nuisance. Well, I was wrong.

Today i actually had a few moments to sit in quiet and I opened the little magnificat book we gave out and read the reflection of tomorrow, the feast of the Immaculate conception.

I found it really insightful.

The question the writer posed was why doesn't God give every one the prevenient grace he gives to Mary.  Why not save us all from the effects of original sin?  Would not this have been better for us, better for the created world, and most of all better for God himself?


The reality is that God does give us all prevenient grace.  We just don't always respond in the affirmative.

Mary responded with an complete yes to God's offer.  We, however, i mean the rest of us, often drag out feet and often miss out on the beauty of surrender, the beauty of letting God have his way with us.

Does God give us prevenient grace, you betcha.

When someone warns us to put on our seat belt or to not text and drive, could this not be God's grace seeking  to preserve us from harm!

When our doctor tells us to start eating better and exercise or we might be headed in a direction our bodies cannot recover from, is this not PRevenient grace.

When the church warns us against chemical contraceptives and the damage it does to marriages and the health of families, is this not prevenient grace.

God gives us prevenient grace all the time.  We just don't like the way it sounds or form it takes.

Not unlike Mary in the gospel for the feast we ask that age old question, "how can this be?"

The problem is unlike Mary we don't wait for the answer to be given we just fly by the seat of our pants hoping it never catches up to us.  Some where deep in side we think we can get away with it unscathed.

Mary's patient response to the Lord shows us how to respond and thus anxiety his removed.  MAry shows us that God always goes first.  Yet how often do we put ourselves first in line and miss out on the prevenient grace God wished to bestow to us the whole time.