The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today bring together grace and faith as elements in Christian Life that are modeled in the birth and life of Mary.
The reading from the Book of Genesis is an etiology to explore the enmity between the Serpent and the woman.
* [3:15] They will strike…at their heel: the antecedent for “they” and “their” is the collective noun “offspring,” i.e., all the descendants of the woman. Christian tradition has seen in this passage, however, more than unending hostility between snakes and human beings. The snake was identified with the devil (Wis 2:24; Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seemed implied in the verse. Because “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), the passage was understood as the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind, the protoevangelium. Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 130–200), in his Against Heresies 5.21.1, followed by several other Fathers of the Church, interpreted the verse as referring to Christ, and cited Gal 3:19 and 4:4 to support the reference. Another interpretive translation is ipsa, “she,” and is reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. “She” was thought to refer to Mary, the mother of the messiah. In Christian art Mary is sometimes depicted with her foot on the head of the serpent.1
Psalm 98 praises the judge of the world.
* [98:1] Marvelous deeds…victory: the conquest of all threats to the peaceful existence of Israel, depicted in the Psalms variously as a cosmic force such as sea, or nations bent on Israel’s destruction, or evildoers seemingly triumphant. His right hand and holy arm: God is pictured as a powerful warrior.2
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians declares our spiritual blessings in Christ and describes the Father’s Plan of Salvation.
* [1:3–14] While a Pauline letter usually continues after the greeting with a prayer of thanksgiving, as in Eph 1:15–23 below, Ephesians first inserts a blessing of God for the blessings Christians have experienced, as in 2 Cor 1:3–4 and 1 Pt 1:3–12. The blessing here, akin to a Jewish berakah, is rich in images almost certainly drawn from hymns and liturgy. Many ideas here are also found in Col 1:3–23. Certain phrases are frequently repeated, such as in Christ (Eph 1:3, 10, 12) or in him (Eph 1:4, 7, 9, 11, 13) or in the beloved (Eph 1:6) and (for) the praise of (his) glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). Some terms like chose (Eph 1:4) and destined (Eph 1:5) reflect Old Testament theology (Dt 7:7; 9:4–6; 23:5) or Pauline themes (redemption, Eph 1:7, 14; grace, Eph 1:6, 7) or specific emphases in Colossians (forgiveness, Col 1:14). A triadic structure is discernible in Eph 1:3–14: God the Father (Eph 1:3–6, 8, 11), Christ (Eph 1:3, 5, 7–10, 12), and the Spirit (Eph 1:13–14). The spiritual blessings Christians have received through Christ (Eph 1:3) are gratefully enumerated: the call to holiness (Eph 1:4; cf. Col 1:22); the gift of divine adoption establishing a unique spiritual relationship with God the Father through Christ (Eph 1:5; cf. Gal 4:5); liberation from sin through Christ’s sacrificial death (Eph 1:7); revelation of God’s plan of salvation in Christ (Eph 1:9; cf. Eph 3:3–4; Rom 16:25); the gift of election and faith in Christ bestowed upon Jewish Christians (see note on Eph 1:12, we who first hoped in Christ); and finally, the same gift granted to Gentiles (Eph 1:13, you also). In the Christ-centered faith and existence of the Christian communities the apostle sees the predetermined plan of God to bring all creation under the final rule of Christ (Eph 1:4–5, 9–10) being made known (Eph 1:9) and carried through, to God’s glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14).3
In the Gospel of Luke, the Birth of Jesus is foretold.
* [1:26–38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Lk 1:11–12, 26–29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Lk 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Lk 1:14–17, 31–33) the parent objects (Lk 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Lk 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Lk 1:32–33) and Son of God (Lk 1:32, 35).4
Dennis Hamm, S.J. comments that this episode in Mary’s life is what the Catholic Church has come to call the Annunciation. But there is already another feast day by that name. Why do we read it on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
Pope Francis is so convinced of Mary as the ultimate model of any disciple of Christ that he reflects and prays about that reality every chance he gets. For example, recently in a homily urging his audience of visitors to preach the gospel by their deeds of charity and justice as well as by their words, he also urged them to model their own lives on Mary’s readiness to serve others in a ministry of mercy. The entrance of the divine into human history in Jesus of Nazareth came to be called incarnation, literally enfleshment. I am beginning to realize that this enfleshment is a process that entails a history (e.g. Joachim and Ann) and, even more importantly, a promise that is still unfolding—in our own lives, if we have chosen to join it.5
Gerard J. Hughes SJ, a tutor in philosophy at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, comments that thinking about Mary as she appears from the texts can help us to understand our own call to faith.
On the Feast of the Purification in 1843, John Henry Newman preached a sermon for which he took as his text, ‘But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart’, which Luke uses twice within a few lines to emphasise that sense of pregnant meaning which pervades the two opening chapters of his Gospel.[1] Newman’s opening sentence is exact. ‘Little is told us in Scripture concerning the Blessed Virgin, but there is one grace of which the Evangelists make her the pattern in a few simple sentences – of Faith.’[2] There follows what is in effect a first draft of Newman’s famous ‘Essay on The Development of Christian Doctrine.’6
Don Schwager quotes “God borrows Mary's flesh to lead humanity to glory,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"Revealing to you the pre-eternal counsel, Gabriel came and stood before you, maid, and in greeting said, 'Rejoice, earth that has not been sown; rejoice, burning bush that remains unconsumed; Rejoice, unsearchable depth; Rejoice, bridge that leads to heaven; Rejoice, ladder raised on high that Jacob saw; Rejoice, divine jar of manna; Rejoice, deliverance from the curse; Rejoice, restoration of Adam, the Lord is with you!' "'You appeared to me in the form of a man,' said the undefiled maid to the chief of the heavenly hosts. 'How then do you speak to me of things that pass human power? For you have said that God shall be with me and shall take up his dwelling in my womb. How shall I become the spacious habitation and the holy place of him that rides upon the cherubim? (Psalm 18:10) Do not amuse me with deceit; for I have not known pleasure, I have not entered into wedlock. How then shall I bear a child?' "Then the bodiless angel replied, 'When God so wills, the order of nature is overcome, and what is beyond humankind comes to pass. Believe that my sayings are true, all-holy and immaculate lady.' And she cried aloud, 'Let it be to me according to your word, and I shall bear him that is without flesh, who shall borrow flesh from me, that through this mingling he may lead humankind up to his ancient glory, for he alone has power so to do!'"(excerpt from STICHERA OF THE ANNUNCIATION)7
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:26-38 comments that the Scripture passages that we hear in today’s Mass have long inspired the Church’s teaching about the immaculate nature of Mary’s conception… the grace Mary received at her conception foreshadows the grace that is ours now and that will be fully revealed when we join her in heaven.
This is your heritage! You may not have been conceived free from original sin as Mary was, but that doesn’t mean God is withholding grace from you. On the contrary, he wants nothing more than to fill you to overflowing with his grace so that you can overcome the allure of sin and eventually come to see him face-to-face in your heavenly home. As Paul said in today’s second reading, God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens” (Ephesians 1:3, emphasis added). In other words, in Christ, God has made it possible for us one day to be like Mary: perfectly holy and united with Jesus in eternal life.8
Friar Jude Winkler discusses how sin alienates us from God, others, and Nature. The translation of “Hail full of grace” uses the perfect tense in Greek indicating something began in the past and is still true today. Friar Jude explores the vulnerability and surrender in the encounter of the New Ark of the Covenant with angel Gabriel.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, asks what’s happening in the depths of our soul when we hear her story? Surely it must be about more than the miracle of the virgin birth. As Benedictine oblate, author, and poet Kathleen Norris shares, Mary’s “virginity” has less to do with biology than with her stance towards God and life itself.
I interpret this to mean that while Zechariah is seeking knowledge and information, Mary contents herself with wisdom. . . . Mary’s “How can this be?” is a simpler response than Zechariah’s, and also more profound. She does not lose her voice but finds it. Like any of the prophets, she asserts herself before God, saying, “Here am I.” . . . Mary proceeds—as we must do in life—making her commitment without knowing much about what it will entail or where it will lead. I treasure the story because it forces me to ask: When the mystery of God’s love breaks through into my consciousness, do I run from it? . . . Or am I virgin enough to respond from my deepest, truest self, and say something new, a “yes” that will change me forever? [2]9
The grace of God and the faith we nurture in our hearts invite us to respond like Mary in vulnerability and surrender to the prompting of the Spirit.
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