when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.
To be our savior, Jesus can not simply appear one day and start talking about salvation. He must be expected. And not simply expected but also prepared for. There must be eager anticipation and even longing for the messiah. Then he can do what he was sent to do.
That expectation should be mutual: God prepares us for the gift with promises, and we prepare ourselves by genuine efforts to be holy; that is, worthy of the gift. The party giving and the party receiving collaborate as the appointed hour approaches. Without mutual preparation the gift, which is both precious and delicate, may be lost.
Catholics from ancient times have believed Mary played a vital role in that preparation. To be our savior God had to become fully human, and that required a woman to give birth to God. But she must be entirely willing to be the Mother of God; it is unthinkable that God should invade a human being without her consent.
And so, when the fullness of time had come – a phrase entirely unintelligible to the secular mind – God gave the grace of Immaculation to Mary. That is, she was conceived without sin and lived her life entirely without sin. Mary accepted this gift freely and proved herself worthy of it. Saint Maximillian Kolbe said her, “She was the Mother of God because she was the Immaculate Conception; and she was the Immaculate Conception because she was the Mother of God.” These blessings are inseparable.
Understand, however, that Mary was subject to Original Sin like every human being; her salvation was given at the moment of her conception through the prevenient grace of Jesus’ suffering and death. God who dwells in eternity showered upon Mary the blessings of virginal innocence which flow from Calvary, even as he had blessed her ancestors Abraham and Sarah through the prevenient grace of Jesus Christ. All salvation comes from Jesus; there is no other name in heaven or earth by which we are to be saved.
Given that blessing, Mary was found worthy to be the Mother of God. This was due to God’s favor and to her cooperation. Her Magnificat in Luke 1 expresses her sublime joy in being God’s chosen.
Her worthiness, to our astonishment, renders this world worthy to receive God as a child of earth. Our sins should have polluted the earth beyond hope but God would not be frustrated in his plan of salvation.
As we celebrate the Nativity of Mary we thank God who is – in the words of Saint Francis – good, all good, supreme good. Giving our Lord and Savior to Mary, he demonstrated his benevolence beyond anything we could expect, hope for or ask. With her we sing God’s praises, for he has looked with favor on her lowliness, all ages to come will call her blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.