without spot or stain

Genesis 3:9-15,20; Ps 98 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has donemarvelous deeds; Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12; Luke 1:26-38

In the words of St. Anselm, "without God's son, nothing could exist; without Mary's son, nothing could be redeemed."

Today's feast is primarily about our redemption, God reaching down to offer us a hand so as to lift us from the mire and muck of sinfulness.  He has chosen to reach us through one of us.  He reaches through the Blessed Virgin Mary to incorporate our humanity in the range of salvation.

God chooses to redeem us but not without us. 


From the moment of her conception, by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary is preserved from all stain of original sin.  The grace of Christ won on the cross is applied to her in advance.

And why not.  God is outside of time. 

Think about salvtion for a moment.  There are two ways one can be saved from falling into a hole.  First and most oridanirly, once having fallen in a hole a rope is thrown down and the victim is pulled out of the hole and thus considered to be rescued or saved from falling inthe hole.  Though the effects of the fall are visible and very tangible on the one who has fallen but nonetheless is saved.

The second way of saving someone from falling in a hole is to actualy direct then around hole, thus preventing them from falling in the first place.  Salvation and rescue is still a reality though the person has been prevented from experiencing the effects of the fall.

In both cases, salvation is a gift of another.

Why is Mary the "lucky" one. 
We must remember God wants to save all of us, but that saving grace effects each of us personally.  The grace given sets us on a path, a new path in life.  This gift of grace forms an exchange or dialogue between God and humanity in which case each particular life setting becomes a place of encounter,a personal encounter that is also in itself a calling.  The grace empowers and enables the individual to recognize God's call and to pursue that call as one's mission in life.

Mary's call and misison is unique and different than the rest of us.  Her role as the mother of God required a different initiation in to the life of grace and thus she is "full of grace" from the very beginning.  For it is through her that Jesus is able to reestablish in himself the original purity of Creation and thus reorient  it (creation) to eternal glory.

Jesus takes Mary's humanity and makes it his own, free from the stain of original sin, thus reversing the disaster brought forth by the misuse of liberty granted to Adam and Eve.

Since Mary's womb becomes the noble resting place of the Trnity, her mission required a unique offer of grace.   The grace given at her conception becomes a defining moment at the annunciation.  It is what she is created for and with free unhindered use of her liberty she is able to responed with a complete openness to God's call.


Her unhinderd yes is what this grace bestowed upon her is all about.  Just like Adam and Eve were free of sin and thus brought forth self destruction with their abuse of freedom so Mary's "yes" paints for us what it means to truly give of one self completely, being at the disposal of God's will and call.


What we celebrate in Mary we must also acknowledge in us.  Just like Mary's life setting becomes a place of enocunter with the living God, so does our life setting and circumstance become a place of that encounter.

God also wants to enable and empowers us, each of us to hear his call and fulfill his mission for our life.

God continues to apply that grace over and over in our lived situation. The favor Mary finds with God is also the very favor he bestows upon us through her and her son.  We are all highly favored. 

Mary's conception also inagurates a new way of being human and makes its presence felt; a new age has dawned; sin gives way to grace.

In Mary we see God's smile upon humanity and all of creation; he has not given up on us.  When the world turns against him, God turns towards us.