8th December 2022
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary reminds us, especially when we are assailed by discouragement for our native frailty, that to God nothing is impossible.
When we speak of holiness we mean the thing that belongs most of all to God. This proprium is communicated by him and shared by man. God then, as Paul Beauchamp pointedly observed, rather than demanding holiness wishes to communicate by giving, in the beloved Son, his Spirit, that is, his substantial holiness.
But man frustrated this divine plan with his disobedience. The biblical episode of original sin (Gen 3: 9-15.20) shows us how, after the bitter experience of sin, God sets out to find man. Rashi sees in this gesture the sign of great tenderness: God is more interested in man than in his transgression. In the fullness of time (Lk 1: 26-38), it will be Mary, the “full of grace”, who will give body to the ancient prophecy by receiving the incredible announcement that the Saviour of the world would be born from her womb.
Christ is the prime object of this fullness of grace, with which he, in turn, fills those who love him. Mary is the first to enjoy it, but that’s not all. In the title she receives from the angel, Mary is placed in a relationship of privilege towards Jesus and is also united with all Christians who can always receive from Christ in turn this fullness. Mary thus becomes a sign of that gratuitous love with which God wants to hug every man. And Nazareth, the dark village of Galilee, in turn rises to be a symbol of the universality of salvation.
But man frustrated this divine plan with his disobedience. The biblical episode of original sin (Gen 3: 9-15.20) shows us how, after the bitter experience of sin, God sets out to find man. Rashi sees in this gesture the sign of great tenderness: God is more interested in man than in his transgression. In the fullness of time (Lk 1: 26-38), it will be Mary, the “full of grace”, who will give body to the ancient prophecy by receiving the incredible announcement that the Saviour of the world would be born from her womb.
Christ is the prime object of this fullness of grace, with which he, in turn, fills those who love him. Mary is the first to enjoy it, but that’s not all. In the title she receives from the angel, Mary is placed in a relationship of privilege towards Jesus and is also united with all Christians who can always receive from Christ in turn this fullness. Mary thus becomes a sign of that gratuitous love with which God wants to hug every man. And Nazareth, the dark village of Galilee, in turn rises to be a symbol of the universality of salvation.
Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb Abbazia di Santa Maria – Praglia (Italia)
Übersetzung von fr. Daniel Tibi, Abtei Kornelimünster