8 December 2015 - all of the blessings

Open to me the gates of righteousness

[ Today's Readings ]

The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.

Eve is meant to be the mother of all the living. But in fact, she becomes the mother of the dead when she and Adam eat the forbidden fruit. From then on we are "dead in our sins" (cf. Eph. 2:5). Nothing is right since then. Adam and Even realize they are naked. They can no longer exist without the fear of being used and exploited so they now need clothes. Sin breaks the relationship between humans and God, one another, and the world.

God does not leave us in this broken state. He does not leave us dead in our sins. It might seem like his plans have failed when Adam and Evil fall into sin. But his plan is deeper than this apparent failure. He "accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will" so that even a world once dead in sin "might exist for the praise of his glory". To this end he blesses us "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens". He doesn't just bless us with some of the blessings. He blesses us with all of them. He transforms us from death to life. He makes us "holy and without blemish before him."

Is it entirely unreasonable to believe that Mary would receive this grace in a special way so that she could fulfill her unique role in God's plan?

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

The grace she receives is ultimately the same as the grace we receive: holiness. The source of the grace is ultimately the same: the saving merits of Jesus Christ. Only the manner in which she receives it is unique. And it is unique precisely so that she can be a blessing to others. It is necessary for her to have this grace in order to be sufficiently available and free to give God her fiat, her yes. This grace is necessary for her to have room in her heart (and therefore her body) for Jesus. And because she does receive this grace she is able to be the mother of all of the living. This is God's plan from the beginning. We need a mother. We see how desperate we become when our first parents sin and fall. Now we can truly appreciate the gift of our Immaculate Mother.

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

The Immaculate Conception is the dawn of mercy for the world. What better day to inaugurate the year of mercy? If we are tempted to write this off as a nice pious thing let us remember how much mercy matters. Let us remember that without it we are dead in sin, cut off from God and one another. Let us celebrate that we are not without God, and not without the mother he gives us.