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The feast of the Immaculate Conception gives credibility to the mystery of the Incarnation, the doctrine which holds that in the fullness of time, the eternal Son of God became man. After all, it’s hard to believe that God shared in our humanity. How do we know that Jesus was not dropped out of heaven simply clothed as a man? Well, our doubt is resolved by the Immaculate Conception which speaks to us about a plan. If the Son of God was to become man, then he would have to share in our humanity in all ways but sin. He would have to be conceived in an immaculate woman — for God and sin do not mix. He would have to grow from embryo to fetus to infant in the womb of one who would be worthy of housing a divine person.
Thus, there developed a belief in the Christian community that from all eternity, God had chosen Mary to be the sinless vessel through which the Son of God would enter our world.
Sometimes we have this image of the Incarnation as an event taking place in Heaven or maybe in outer space, but the Immaculate Conception reminds us that the woman who evolved from this sacred seed, conceived without sin, was the place where God met man. It is in MARY where the Incarnation took place. Is it not fitting, then, that we honor the immaculate conception of this woman, born out of the love of Sts. Joachim and Ann, chosen from all eternity by God our Father to be the mother of his only Son? Absolutely! For as we pay homage to her, we pay tribute as well to the fruit of her womb, Jesus, through whom and in whom, “God saves.”
If we look, for example, at the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary, we will find five portraits of a woman in whose image any action hero pales.
In the Annunciation, we encounter a young teen that is told by an Angel that she would conceive and bear a child — not just any kid but the Son of God. Imagine her courage as she responds: “Be it done unto me as you say.”
And in the Visitation, Mary leaves Nazareth to help her cousin, Elizabeth — not because she wanted to get out of town, she had to leave. Unwed and pregnant, Mary knew that people would ostracize her had she stayed in Nazareth — or worse, the neighbors might haggle her parents. Imagine her integrity and pride as she chooses to leave the hometown rather than bring shame or confrontation to her parents’ home.
The Nativity looks nice when we construct the crèche year after year—a cozy nook surrounded by angels, kings, gifts and darling shepherds. But the truth is Mary had to give birth like an animal — in the damp straw of a dark stable. What pain she must have endured as she lay on the cold ground, receiving no coaching from a midwife, no solace from her own mother. Here we catch a glimpse of a woman of great valor as she welcomes into the world the Prince of Peace.
In The Presentation, Mary thought that Simeon would simply circumcise Jesus, making him a bona fide member of the Jewish people. Instead, she receives a prophecy, which brings pain to her heart. As a woman of intelligence, Mary knows that the future of Jesus is not without its trials — and, more frightening, his future did not always include her. How this young maiden of Nazareth aged as she embraced her child. Indeed we find here a portrait of a woman who is first and foremost, a mother.
Finally, in The Finding in the Temple, we again sense Mary’s anxiety as she spends three days in pursuit of her missing child — in an age when it was not uncommon for children to be sold into slavery. There was no picture of Jesus on a milk-carton, no police to comb the streets of Jerusalem, just a woman and her husband frantically pacing the labyrinth of streets around the Temple. But in her fear, she finds comfort and, in this moment, we see the portrait of a woman of patience and perseverance.
Five glimpses of Mary — there are many more in the other mysteries of the Rosary and in the Scriptures. Take a look and you will realize that the United States of America is blessed to have Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception as its Patron. She is not an action hero. She is not just another woman. She is the Blessed Mother in whom humanity and divinity meet marking the genesis of our salvation once and for all.
Father Comandini is managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit.”
