Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the great Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which occasion, we commemorate the moment when the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, ever-Virgin and ever full of grace, was conceived Immaculate, that means, free from any taint of original sin and defects, and kept by the singular grace of God in the fullness of grace, and therefore, became the perfect Vessel through whom the Saviour of this world, Jesus Christ, Son of God Most High, enters into our midst through His glorious Incarnation in the flesh. Today’s celebration reminds us all that Mary is truly the New Ark of the New Covenant of God, bearing within her the Salvation which God has promised all of us.
Now, all of us need to understand the significance of the celebration today, and why the Church teaches that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, has been conceived without any taint of sin, spared and protected from the corruption of evil and sin. This is because we must understand that first of all, sin did not exist in the beginning, as God created all things good and perfect, just as we heard them in the Book of Genesis during the time of Creation. Mankind were also created perfect in the very image of God, and were all meant to dwell with God forever, in a state of perfect happiness, harmony and bliss. That is because God loves each and every one of us, all those whom He has created out of His perfect and overflowing love.
God did not have need for anything or anyone, as He is all perfect and all encompassing. There is nothing and no one who can satisfy God, as in His perfection, He has no need for all those things. Yet, in the overflowing love that came forth from the perfect love and union in His Most Holy Trinity, the unity and love between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, God wants us all to share in this love. Hence, that is why God created us all so that we all may share in His generosity and compassion, His richness of love and mercy. God has never meant for us to suffer in this world, or to endure any hardships, bitterness, challenges or trials, as He wants us to be truly happy and blessed, at all times. And therefore, from the beginning of time, He has shown us His love, enduring ever always despite our many sins.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is crucial that we understand how our disobedience against God and His Law, His commandments and ways has led us into the path of sin. Sin has caused us to be corrupted and turned away into the path of wickedness and evil, and leading us down the path of rebellion against God. Through sin, we have been brought away from the righteous path of God, and we have been afflicted with this corruption of sin, which made us to be unworthy of God’s grace and love, that He has always ever generously given to us. We have rejected Him by our disobedience and preference to follow the path of Satan and sin, in turning away from His love and path. Thus, by our disobedience sin has been borne by us, and by sin thus we have entered into this state of suffering and we have to suffer death.
Yet, God’s love for each and every one of us endured, and that is why from the beginning He has already planned way ahead for our salvation and ultimate liberation from all those wicked forces and sin. He revealed to our ancestors and Satan himself, that through the Woman, the salvation of all mankind and this whole world would come, and Satan would be dealt a great defeat, and eventually he shall be thrust forever into Hell and destroyed. And this Woman is none other than Mary, the Mother of God, the one through whom the Saviour of the world, the Son of God Most High, Jesus Christ, would be born through. She is the Woman through whom God would restore all of His beloved people back to His grace and love, because by her ready acceptance of her role and part in the history of salvation, she has brought unto us the love of God made flesh, in Jesus Christ.
Then, as we have already spoken about how sin has led to the corruption and downfall of mankind, because we have been made corrupted and unworthy of God, Who is all holy and perfect, and hence, this is why this belief we have in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Bearer of the Messiah, is necessary and important. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because for Mary to bear God Himself in her, present in the flesh in Jesus Christ, thus, she has to be immaculate and holy, perfect and free from the taint of sin. That is because no sin can exist in God’s Presence, and nothing impure and imperfect can be in the Vessel of His Saviour, His own Son, Who is co-equal and consubstantial with the Father.
In the past, the Ark of the Covenant was the centre and focus of the worship and the whole community of the people of Israel, because God Himself has hallowed and blessed it, and His Holy Presence came down upon the Ark and rested on it. The Ark was made by the craftsmen from the finest worldly materials, and was made to contain the two tablets on which the Ten Commandments of God were written, as well as the heavenly bread manna, by which God had fed His people with, and also the Staff of Aaron, the staff of authority by which God had performed His signs and wonders in the land of Egypt before the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. That Ark of the Covenant was the manifestation of God’s Presence among His people, and as it has been hallowed and made holy to allow God’s Presence to rest on it, thus, it cannot be touched by anyone, and there was a case when a priest accidentally touched the Ark, and he was struck dead on the spot.
Why is that so? That is because of our sins, which will be our undoing if we come to God in a state of sin and wickedness. Thus, that is why, in the same idea and logic, therefore, is the reason why Mary, the Mother of God, who was to bear the Lord Himself in her own hallowed womb, has to be truly free from any taint of sin, and thus, she, by the singular grace of God, had been kept from the taint of original sin and any other sin throughout her whole life. She is indeed the New Ark of the New Covenant of God, which the Lord Jesus would establish with all of us. This is also what is referred to by the Archangel Gabriel when he hailed Mary as ‘Full of Grace’. One who is in the state of fullness of grace means that the person is fully attuned and aligned with God and His will, and therefore, has no sin. This is why, the Church has consistently taught that Mary was conceived without sin in the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, and then remained ever holy and pure throughout her life.
That is also why the Church teaches that Mary has also been assumed to Heaven at the end of her worldly existence, in the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the same reason that if sin has never corrupted her, then she should not suffer the consequences of sin, and thus, by the grace of God, she has been assumed and taken, body and soul into Heaven. Now, as we reflect on all these roles that Mary had played in the story of our salvation by God, let us all therefore remind ourselves to be more like her in all that she had done throughout her whole life. Mary was indeed honoured greatly and exalted, first and foremost because she is none other than the Mother of God herself, and if we truly love and honour the Lord our God, with all of our hearts and might, then we should also honour His mother in the same way.
However, we also honour Mary because of her great dedication and commitment to God, her ready and willing acceptance of God’s will and all that He had told her to do. She accepted everything humbly and lovingly, committing herself to what she had been entrusted to do. As the bearer of the Lord and His Mother, she has dedicated herself to care for her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, and she followed Him throughout His ministry faithfully, even to the foot of the Cross, where she saw with her very own eyes, the most painful suffering and death that her own Son had to suffer for the sake of our salvation, and to liberate all of us from the tyranny and dominion of sin and evil. All of these had been patiently endured by Mary, who continued to humbly and devotedly follow the Lord and fulfil her mission as intended.
Let us therefore as Christians be inspired by the examples and the faith of Mary, the Blessed ever Virgin, Mother of God, and do what we can so that our own lives may truly be worthy of the Lord, in obeying His will, Law and commandments at all times. Let us all strive to be ever more worthy of the Lord by doing what is right and just, and what He has taught and shown us all to do in our respective lives. May all of us as Christians be true and genuine disciples and followers of Christ in all things, and not merely a formality only. May all of us strive to keep ourselves away from sin and evil, as we ought to remember that we ourselves have been chosen and blessed to be God’s holy people, and hence, we should not allow ourselves to be corrupted by sin and evil, by distancing ourselves from the many temptations being present all around us.
May the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, most holy, the Immaculate Conception, be our guide and our help, in our journey of faith towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He continue to bless our lives and fill us all with His ever enduring love and grace. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 