The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Homily

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4 (1)
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1:26-38
December 9, 2024

God had placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Everything was wonderful.  The garden was a gift from God for them.

In doing so, He gave them one rule, don’t eat the forbidden fruit.  Everything was bliss, that is, until the cunning serpent set his snares on Adam and Eve.

The serpent, aka Satan, tricked Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit by distorting what God had said.  Satan lies.  God tells the truth.

God instructed Adam and Eve to not eat the forbidden fruit for their own good. 

Satan tricked Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit because he wanted them to sin.  He distorted God’s words to convince them that God told them not to eat the forbidden fruit for God’s own good. 

Satan told them that they would become like God if they ate the fruit.

Adam and Eve had felt no shame before they ate the forbidden fruit.  Afterwards, Adam was afraid because he knew he was naked.  Eating the forbidden fruit did not bring them anything good.  It brought them shame.

In breaking the one rule God had given them, they lost their innocence. 

In punishing the serpent, God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.”  We live in a divided world but all is not lost.

God had chosen us “before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.  In love he destined us for adoption to himself.”

From the beginning, God knew the sinful nature of humanity.  He has always known that we would sin at times and so He would provide us a remedy for our sins.

What is the remedy?

God would send his Son Jesus not to condemn us.  Rather, He sent Jesus to save us from our sins.  We cannot save ourselves.  We are saved “according to the intention” of God’s Will.  Thus, we have hope.

How would God send Jesus to save us?

It was his will for Jesus to become incarnate in our world in the same way our lives begin.  Our lives begin when we are conceived in our mother’s womb.

Normally, this happens when a mother and a father have relations with one another.  Mary had had no relations with a man. 

So, how would she become pregnant?

Gabriel explained, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”  Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the grace of God.

Mary surrendered herself to our Father’s Will.  She said yes.

There was one more consideration.  To be the ark that would carry Jesus in her womb, Mary had to be sinless.  No human being is born without the stain of original sin. 

God always knew Mary would say yes.  So, for Mary to be sinless, God saw fit that at the moment when Mary was conceived in her own mother’s womb to bestow prevenient grace upon her.  Prevenient grace is grace given by God before the person does the act that leads to the grace (in this case, Mary’s yes).  Through his prevenient grace, Mary was conceived immaculately, without sin. 

Having been conceived immaculately, Mary truly is “full of grace.”

God’s plan included Mary’s “yes.”

Through Mary’s “yes,” the whole world can be saved.

For you to be saved individually, you need to say yes to God.

Do you say “yes” to God’s Will?

Or do you say “no” to God’s Will?

To spent eternity with God depends on a yes.