THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Where are you?

That’s the question God asked Adam and Eve after they hid themselves in the garden. He knew the answer, of course. But he wanted them to see how their sin had separated them from him. Now, instead of watching joyfully as they came to him on their own, he would have to seek them out. He would have to call them away from sin and into his presence. And even then, their fear or resentment might keep them at a distance. And so he would continue, in each generation, to call to them.

Where are you? Scripture tells how, again and again, God called his people into a relationship of loving obedience. And again and again, they returned to him, only to fall away. It seemed that they just could not maintain their faithfulness and trust in his love.

But God didn’t give up on his desire to save his people. When the time was just right, he brought forth something new: someone preserved from the stain of original sin. He graced us with a woman with an immaculate heart who was finally capable of saying yes to him in every situation.

At last! In Mary God found a pure, sinless soul. He found in her someone worthy of receiving his Son, someone equipped to raise him up to become our Savior.

So when God called out to her through an angel, Mary freely gave the response he had longed to hear for centuries: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

This is the marvelous truth we celebrate today. Through Mary, this immaculate woman, God could now enter a world scarred by sin and reconcile all things to himself. Because of her, everyone can be filled with the Spirit and live a life that reflects her purity and innocence. And by her intercession, her yes to God can be our yes.

So today when you hear God calling, Where are you? remember Mary and echo her prayer of perfect surrender: “Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will.”

“Pray for us, O Immaculate Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!”

Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm 98:1-4
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1:26-38