Immaculate Mary, no stain of Sin
is on Thee!
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Principal Patroness of the Philippines
December 8, 2016
by Mico Pacheco
Principal Patroness of the Philippines
December 8, 2016
by Mico Pacheco
Poster by Mac Norhen Bornales
Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Principal Patroness of the Philippines. While this is one of the greatest feasts in the liturgical calendar, especially for the use here in the Philippines, what we usually remember of December 8 is either the day of our First Communion back in Grade 2 or 3, or our no-class days during our stay in Catholic educational institutions, a December 8 privilege we still enjoy today in UST. We see this day as a sigh of relief - at last a day to refresh ourselves from the stress of academic requirements and the fear that comes with the impending danger to be brought about by our final exams. It is a treat for us all, to be able to stay at home either to rest or to prepare for the forthcoming deadlines. But we often forget why this day was declared as a holiday, for the very reason that today is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION – which means that similar to Sundays, a baptized Catholic is expected to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This obligation highlights the importance of what we are observing today which many have no or very little knowledge of.
On this day, we celebrate the great feast of the Immaculata, the one and only Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of All, Queen and Patroness of the Philippine Islands, who we hail today as the spotless vessel through which our Lord Jesus came into this world. This day, we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, but not because of anything she has brought upon herself, not of a great act attributed to her, not of a noble deed, a miracle or legacy she has left, but because of an honor bestowed to her not by anyone else but God himself.
In the history of salvation, we know of the Fall of Man, shown in the story of Adam and Eve, when the female, Eve, gave in to the temptation to eat from the tree of which God has forbidden her to eat and with this came Adam’s disobedience as well. It was Eve who first disobeyed God’s will by choosing the invitation of the serpent to eat the fruit, exchanging loyalty to God for a fleeting promise of “wisdom”. While wisdom is good, Eve sought wisdom not from God but of the serpent, a representation of that which crawls on this earth because it is nothing but from this earth or even under the earth – not divine, not transcendental, not from God. How often do we still continue to choose worldly promises instead of those of God? The error of the past resounds to this day – the sin of disobedience to God – original sin. The Eve of the creation narrative says much man, who was made in the image and likeness of God, who has been cared by him in paradise, chose to follow an invitation to error, to temptations of worldly pleasures. Our first reading for today highlights the error of the former Eve, the Eve of the creation narrative. Adam and Eve were condemned to damnation from Paradise, exiling them to a life of toil and predicament. But God does not leave man hopeless. The narrative makes mention of another “woman”, to whom enmity will but put between them, “between your offspring and hers”. The offspring of the woman shall one day come to trample on the head of the serpent who has caused the punishment of all humanity.
Mary is the New Eve. As the former Eve answered God with disobedience, this New Eve gave her YES to God to become the Mother of Christ. She became the vessel through whom Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the human race, came to the world and saved all from the clutches of sin. Mary gave birth to Christ, the Son of God, and Christ, the offspring of Mary, trampled on the head of the Evil One, crushing his grasp on Man, bringing us to safety, to fullness of communion with the Father, correcting the error of Adam and Eve. But a remnant of that error still remains – original sin – which all men carry as a sign of that first disobedience, but through Christ who instituted our baptism in the Father, Son and Spirit, we are cleansed from this stain.
But Mary is not God! She was but a creature just like any of us. Does this mean that she too carries this stain?
We recall what the narrative of the Fall of Man made mention, that God puts enmity between the serpent and the Woman, the Mother of the Offspring who will crush the head of this worldly beast.
Mary is the one we call the IMMACULATE – with fullness of purity, free from blemish or any spot. She was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without any stain of original sin. God himself did not allow her to be tainted with the error of the first sin of Adam and Eve for she is the instrument of bringing forth the correction of this error: the Christ, Savior of all Men. She is the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION – a creature like us but honored with the greatest honor – free from any stain – the highest honor of our race.
God willed her immaculate conception in the womb of St. Anne. The Christ would need a worthy dwelling – and Mary is this worthy dwelling. The Gospel for today shows emphasis on Mary’s great role in salvation history, becoming the Mother of Christ through her “yes” to God – which He foresaw. Mary’s obedience was the greatest blow to the serpent of the Old Testament. As he tempted the old Eve, this new Eve, of the same race, an equal creature, stood for what God willed – for Christ to save all humanity. This “yes” of Mary would resound through history, greater than the stain of original sin, a “yes” that brought forth the salvation of souls.
Coincidentally, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception takes place within the season of Advent. We may think that this is only an occasion by chance as December 8 is 9 months before our celebration of the Nativity of Mary on September 8. However, we must realize that this event has a great significance in what we are observing in this liturgical season. Advent is the time of waiting for the promised Messiah, a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus. Mary, therefore, signified the dawn of our salvation – She herself was the dawn! Her coming to existence grants hope to a longing humanity, patiently awaiting their Savior Jesus Christ. Mary is the symbol of the Advent season, the hope of all humanity in the coming of Jesus. A worthy hope must be kept from all blemish, and due to this, she was conceived without the stain of original sin, without any trace of it.
“Nothing will be impossible for God”, the Angel Gabriel says in the conclusion of today’s Gospel. Mary replied: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” We read this in the light of Mary’s obedience but let us realize that all these were due to God’s goodness to humanity, providing salvation to a fallen people. On this day of celebration in honor of Mother Mary, may we express our gratitude to God for giving her to us as Mother of the Savior. She is the dawn of the salvation we received in Christ. May through Mary, the Immaculata, we too may become clean and free from the blemish of sin as we prepare for the day that we come face to face with her Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May this season of Advent be a journey with Mary, to witness Jesus not only from the stable to the tomb, but to see his glorious resurrection as well and that we too, in the end of this earthly journey, rise and meet this Risen Lord, to become united with Him and the Father, to see God who willed our salvation, who willed the coming of Christ through Mary, the preserved vessel of Christ.
Mary, in the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the Principal Patroness of the Philippines. Let us ask her intercession for the Filipino People, our leaders and our society. May the Immaculate Conception, Mother and Queen of the Philippines, move all hearts to love not the things of this world like what the first Adam and Eve have done, but to love Jesus, whom Mary, the new Eve, loved the most. Let us pray the ACT OF CONSECRATION of the Filipino People to Mary, the Immaculate Conception.
O most Blessed Virgin Mary,
you who were preserved from the stain of original sin,
most loving and powerful Patron of the Philippines,
to you also be endless praise, everlasting veneration,
and thanksgiving in Christ Jesus.
O Immaculate Mother, our most kind mother,
our most sweet and august Queen,
with grateful hearts we praise your mercies and fly to your protection.
O Blessed Lady,
you who captivate the hearts of men,
you who captivate our hearts; you have captivated the hearts of our people also.
You have established, fostered, and strengthened the foundations of the faith
in our beloved land by your good patronage
as manifested in so many visible proofs of your maternal love.
O Lady, you are our Mother,
who crushed the head of the serpent,
deliver our people from the poisoned arrows of evil men and heretics.
You, who nourished and educated our people
in the faith of your most Beloved Son,
be also our guardian, our defender, and our safeguard.
We are yours; we wish to be yours,
show yourself, a Mother and Patron to us,
guard us and save us through your most powerful intercession.
Amen.
On this day, we celebrate the great feast of the Immaculata, the one and only Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of All, Queen and Patroness of the Philippine Islands, who we hail today as the spotless vessel through which our Lord Jesus came into this world. This day, we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, but not because of anything she has brought upon herself, not of a great act attributed to her, not of a noble deed, a miracle or legacy she has left, but because of an honor bestowed to her not by anyone else but God himself.
In the history of salvation, we know of the Fall of Man, shown in the story of Adam and Eve, when the female, Eve, gave in to the temptation to eat from the tree of which God has forbidden her to eat and with this came Adam’s disobedience as well. It was Eve who first disobeyed God’s will by choosing the invitation of the serpent to eat the fruit, exchanging loyalty to God for a fleeting promise of “wisdom”. While wisdom is good, Eve sought wisdom not from God but of the serpent, a representation of that which crawls on this earth because it is nothing but from this earth or even under the earth – not divine, not transcendental, not from God. How often do we still continue to choose worldly promises instead of those of God? The error of the past resounds to this day – the sin of disobedience to God – original sin. The Eve of the creation narrative says much man, who was made in the image and likeness of God, who has been cared by him in paradise, chose to follow an invitation to error, to temptations of worldly pleasures. Our first reading for today highlights the error of the former Eve, the Eve of the creation narrative. Adam and Eve were condemned to damnation from Paradise, exiling them to a life of toil and predicament. But God does not leave man hopeless. The narrative makes mention of another “woman”, to whom enmity will but put between them, “between your offspring and hers”. The offspring of the woman shall one day come to trample on the head of the serpent who has caused the punishment of all humanity.
Mary is the New Eve. As the former Eve answered God with disobedience, this New Eve gave her YES to God to become the Mother of Christ. She became the vessel through whom Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the human race, came to the world and saved all from the clutches of sin. Mary gave birth to Christ, the Son of God, and Christ, the offspring of Mary, trampled on the head of the Evil One, crushing his grasp on Man, bringing us to safety, to fullness of communion with the Father, correcting the error of Adam and Eve. But a remnant of that error still remains – original sin – which all men carry as a sign of that first disobedience, but through Christ who instituted our baptism in the Father, Son and Spirit, we are cleansed from this stain.
But Mary is not God! She was but a creature just like any of us. Does this mean that she too carries this stain?
We recall what the narrative of the Fall of Man made mention, that God puts enmity between the serpent and the Woman, the Mother of the Offspring who will crush the head of this worldly beast.
Mary is the one we call the IMMACULATE – with fullness of purity, free from blemish or any spot. She was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without any stain of original sin. God himself did not allow her to be tainted with the error of the first sin of Adam and Eve for she is the instrument of bringing forth the correction of this error: the Christ, Savior of all Men. She is the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION – a creature like us but honored with the greatest honor – free from any stain – the highest honor of our race.
God willed her immaculate conception in the womb of St. Anne. The Christ would need a worthy dwelling – and Mary is this worthy dwelling. The Gospel for today shows emphasis on Mary’s great role in salvation history, becoming the Mother of Christ through her “yes” to God – which He foresaw. Mary’s obedience was the greatest blow to the serpent of the Old Testament. As he tempted the old Eve, this new Eve, of the same race, an equal creature, stood for what God willed – for Christ to save all humanity. This “yes” of Mary would resound through history, greater than the stain of original sin, a “yes” that brought forth the salvation of souls.
Coincidentally, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception takes place within the season of Advent. We may think that this is only an occasion by chance as December 8 is 9 months before our celebration of the Nativity of Mary on September 8. However, we must realize that this event has a great significance in what we are observing in this liturgical season. Advent is the time of waiting for the promised Messiah, a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus. Mary, therefore, signified the dawn of our salvation – She herself was the dawn! Her coming to existence grants hope to a longing humanity, patiently awaiting their Savior Jesus Christ. Mary is the symbol of the Advent season, the hope of all humanity in the coming of Jesus. A worthy hope must be kept from all blemish, and due to this, she was conceived without the stain of original sin, without any trace of it.
“Nothing will be impossible for God”, the Angel Gabriel says in the conclusion of today’s Gospel. Mary replied: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” We read this in the light of Mary’s obedience but let us realize that all these were due to God’s goodness to humanity, providing salvation to a fallen people. On this day of celebration in honor of Mother Mary, may we express our gratitude to God for giving her to us as Mother of the Savior. She is the dawn of the salvation we received in Christ. May through Mary, the Immaculata, we too may become clean and free from the blemish of sin as we prepare for the day that we come face to face with her Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May this season of Advent be a journey with Mary, to witness Jesus not only from the stable to the tomb, but to see his glorious resurrection as well and that we too, in the end of this earthly journey, rise and meet this Risen Lord, to become united with Him and the Father, to see God who willed our salvation, who willed the coming of Christ through Mary, the preserved vessel of Christ.
Mary, in the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the Principal Patroness of the Philippines. Let us ask her intercession for the Filipino People, our leaders and our society. May the Immaculate Conception, Mother and Queen of the Philippines, move all hearts to love not the things of this world like what the first Adam and Eve have done, but to love Jesus, whom Mary, the new Eve, loved the most. Let us pray the ACT OF CONSECRATION of the Filipino People to Mary, the Immaculate Conception.
O most Blessed Virgin Mary,
you who were preserved from the stain of original sin,
most loving and powerful Patron of the Philippines,
to you also be endless praise, everlasting veneration,
and thanksgiving in Christ Jesus.
O Immaculate Mother, our most kind mother,
our most sweet and august Queen,
with grateful hearts we praise your mercies and fly to your protection.
O Blessed Lady,
you who captivate the hearts of men,
you who captivate our hearts; you have captivated the hearts of our people also.
You have established, fostered, and strengthened the foundations of the faith
in our beloved land by your good patronage
as manifested in so many visible proofs of your maternal love.
O Lady, you are our Mother,
who crushed the head of the serpent,
deliver our people from the poisoned arrows of evil men and heretics.
You, who nourished and educated our people
in the faith of your most Beloved Son,
be also our guardian, our defender, and our safeguard.
We are yours; we wish to be yours,
show yourself, a Mother and Patron to us,
guard us and save us through your most powerful intercession.
Amen.