Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” November-December 2021

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (feast)
proper

FIRST READING

From the Book of Genesis (Gen 3:9-15, 20)

[After the man had eaten the fruit of the tree,] the Lord God called him and said to him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me, so I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the livestock and among all the wild animals! On your belly you shall crawl, and dirt you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. - The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the first reading

The sin of Adam and Eve is the cause of that original disaster we all carry within us, that inclination toward evil and seduction that causes our present sins. But “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom 5:20), writes Saint Paul, and this event is announced from the very beginning: God tells the serpent that there will be perpetual enmity between him and the woman, who will crush his head. Thus God, creator and liberator, also creates “enmity.” And thank goodness! By virtue of this promise, we know that the battle against the devil already has a victor—indeed, a victor who is a woman. Satan cannot bear being defeated by a woman, writes Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. It is easy to understand who the woman is who crushes the serpent’s head: she is the most beautiful, noble, and exalted of all creatures ever to come into the world: the Virgin Mary. In images we often see her with her foot on the serpent’s head; in every temptation we must look at that foot and cling to the Victress!

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians (Eph 1:3-6, 11-12)
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. In him he chose us, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him in love, predestining us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we were also chosen, predestined according to the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. - The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the second reading

We are children of God, and in Christ the Father blesses us. Too accustomed to receiving curses from everyone, we are amazed when God addresses us, poor creatures, causing his blessing from heaven to reach us. Blessing is divine life, poured out upon us by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice and our receptive faith. Believing in God’s love is more difficult than loving him. Is it possible that God loves me, a poor creature full of shortcomings and sins? We must move beyond this perspective and return to our origins: I was created to be holy and without blemish, because the mystery of good precedes that of evil. God does everything well, and I too, created by him, am “made well” because I come from him. This truth helps us overcome every discomfort and insecurity: we belong to God, and God is our Father. Not feeling loved is the greatest misfortune that can befall a human being; so let us read this passage from the Letter to the Ephesians, read it and reread it slowly, and we will feel all the beauty and certainty of God’s love for us. Blessed by God, we will overcome every obstacle.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:26-38)
At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. - The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

“I do not know man” is Mary’s surprising reply to the angel. And yet Joseph was her betrothed, and Mary knew him well. But the Virgin could only say this because she truly knew no man: she knew only God. Her virginity was absolute and constitutive, since she had been conceived immaculate. Most holy Mary, while living the ordinary life of other creatures, had no other inner reference in anything but God, since she belonged to him from the very first moment. Certainly, she loved her neighbor and knew the people of Nazareth, but she belonged to no one because she was entirely a virgin, the “place” of God and his new earthly Paradise from the beginning of her existence. Before being the Mother of God, she is the Virgin par excellence. Everything in her points to God. We certainly contemplate her unique privilege of being the Mother of God, but today we adore the unfathomable mystery of her virginity. Mary is the only creature conceived and desired entirely for God, the joy of the Father, the dwelling place of the Son, filled with the Holy Spirit.