"How Can This Be?”

"How Can This Be?”

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Piety

The man called his wife Eve because she became the mother of all the living. Genesis 3:20

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. Psalm 98:1

In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.  Ephesians 1:11-12

"How can this be?”  Luke 1:34

Study

Let’s clear up any confusion. The Immaculate Conception signifies Mary getting conceived in her mother’s womb.  Just because the reading is from the Annunciation, don’t be confused. This is not (yet) about only about The Jesus Story.  However, we can not get to The Jesus Story without getting tied to the Mary Story.  They are bound together like petals on the same flower.

 

If not for this solitary Immaculate Conception, then Mary would not have been a humble, worthy mother to the Son of God and the New Mother of All Humanity.  Without the Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation would not have happened.  Neither would the Nativity.  Neither would Good Friday.  Easter, out.  Ascension, not. Holy Spirit does not descend. Assumption, nil.  Out of all Salvation History and Sacred Tradition, this one moment is the turning point.  It brings the Promise of Eden to Life again!   

Today is a “Holy Day of Obligation.” This comes from the Latin ligātus (past participle of ligāre to tie, bind). Mary and Jesus are mortally connected an umbilical cord.  In one sense, it could never be separated.  When Michelangelo carved his famous statue Pieta, it was two figures carved out of one perfect slab of marble.

From the beginning to the end, Mary was there.  Mary stood by Jesus to the end. Unity. Fullness. Completion. Security. Love. Duty.  Hope. 

She could NOT not be at the foot of the cross and more than she could NOT not be at the Nativity. 

At the foot of the cross, we see the price of binding love revealed. We see that there is no resurrection without the Immaculate Conception bringing everything together, binding everything together.  We see piety today in the actions of a Jewish teenager.  We see duty. We see passion. The cross of love cost Jesus his life. It cost Mary, her son. Piety is about our capacity to respond to that love by merely loving God and each other. Mere Christianity.

By Mary tying her life to God from the moment she was formed in her mother’s womb, we as her children and his siblings now also have an obligation to fulfill.  The beads in our Rosary are the cord that connects us through the years right back to Our Father who art in heaven, Our Mother full of grace and our brother Jesus having pity on us all so he carried the cross for everyone.

Action

Growing up, we focused on the obligation part of today.  A Holy Day of Obligation – to a third grader -- meant we had to go to church. How short-sighted. It’s not about going to church, it’s about coming from church.  Yes, this weekend, we come from Church on Saturday and Sunday.  It’s not about what happens inside the Church. It's about what happens before you go and afterward.

What page of your story is bound into Salvation history? Your story is tied to The Mary Story.  Your story is tied to The Jesus Story.  As you tie your shoes today, think of how you will live out your binds to all humanity. Do you need to turn over a new leaf?