HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE IMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE IMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

THEME : ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

By: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA

READINGS OF THE DAY
Genesis 3:9-15,20
Psalm 97:1-4
Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12
Luke 1:26-38

LITURGICAL COLOUR
WHITE

INTRODUCTION
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in this occasion, we commemorate the moment when the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, ever-Virgin and ever full of grace, was conceived Immaculate, that means, free from any taint of original sin and defects.

FROM OUR FIRST READING
The First Reading evokes the image of sinful brokenness which we experience, of the disobedience which brings pain and suffering. This brokenness becomes part of our being human in the world and we spread it everywhere. The wonder of God’s mercy is that in his Son, Jesus, born of the Virgin, God turns our human nature into an instrument of the healing of the world, the reconciliation of all people.

FROM OUR SECOND READING
In today’s Second Reading, we praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us through Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Through our living faith in Christ and the Church Sacraments, we now qualify to receive the blessed hope of enjoying our rightful inheritance that was taken from us. Through our living faith in Jesus Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism, we now have the opportunity to once more become holy and blameless children before God in perfect love. We now qualify to be raised to the blameless and immaculate state of grace that the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed throughout her life and continues to enjoy to this date.

FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In today’s Gospel Reading, we heard the words of the angel Gabriel, “Greetings, favoured one!” [Lk. 1:28] The actual words from the translated Latin Vulgate Bible are, “Hail, full of grace!” From these words, the angel Gabriel was expressing that the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed a unique state of grace that far surpassed the creation of all men and the angels. Her soul, spirit and body were immaculate because of her immaculate conception.

WHAT DOES THIS FEAST REMINDS EACH OF US TODAY?
Today’s feast reminds us that we have someone we can look towards in our efforts to respond to the Lord’s call to us. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is also our mother. She knows the power of sin and what it can do to human lives; she saw what it did to her Son. She surrounds us with her intercessory prayer so that we can become the human person God desires us to be. That is why we can ask her with confidence to pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

CONCLUSION
We are all too often the cause of sin and pain in other people’s lives. Let us turn to the Lord, with the help of his grace, pray for his grace, pray to become more obedient to him after the example of Mary, only then can we be people who bring wholeness and healing into the lives of those around us, into our world which hungers for the balm of grace.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
Happy Feast of the Imaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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