Free from Sin
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Faith on Monday, December 08, 2008 2:03 PM
Today during his homily, our pastor mentioned that the Church’s teaching is that although the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin, she was still capable of committing actual sins during her life. It’s just that by the grace of God she managed to resist temptation.
We tend, our pastor mentioned, to think of Mary as someone completely other than ourselves: perfect, while we are mere sinners. This is why the teaching that says she was capable of sin is so important. It reminds us that Mary’s perfection is not an impossibility but an invitation.
None of us was conceived without sin and none of us will hold the place in Heaven that the Mother of God holds, but her vocation - to be perfected by grace and one day have the chance to enter the presence of God himself - is our vocation as well. God created all men to live in a union of love with Him, and the perfection of our souls is the prerequisite to that union.
Mary’s perfection was achieved in a special and magnificent way that set her apart from all of creation. But rather than being intimidated by the magnificence, we can find in her perfect obedience a call to ourselves to live as she did, and a reminder of exactly where we can find the grace to help us do that.
During Advent we prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, both in an immediate way for our celebration of His birth at Christmas and in a bigger way for His final coming and the judgment of our lives. It is a time to remind ourselves of the ultimate goal of living, and to renew our efforts to seek the extra grace we need to allow Christ to enter more fully into our hearts.
Our celebration of the Immaculate Conception fits perfectly into this season, as we find in the person of our Blessed Mother an example and an invitation. She embodies the perfect faith and obedience for which we ought to be striving, and as our mother she invites all of us to seek it, and promises to intercede on our behalf. In this time of looking forward, what could be more fitting than that?
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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