Episodes
Monday Dec 09, 2019
Homily for December 9, 2019
Monday Dec 09, 2019
Monday Dec 09, 2019
A few years ago, a parish in Iowa was celebrating its 150th anniversary. While the people were milling about, Megan, who was about 12, carried her baby sister Anika over to the priest. The priest said, "What a beautiful child!" Megan said, "Yeah, Father, but she has a temper." Megan was speaking out of her wisdom. She was learning something we all know: There is a difference between how things look and how they really are.
Today we celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception, the first completely holy person. The Greek Fathers say “Panagia,” "the All-Holy," when referring to Mary. Mary's Immaculate Conception is not something we can verify like we can so many other facts; we know this only by faith. Faith is more like wisdom; it is not based on appearances. Faith tells us that no matter how sin abounds in our world, grace super-abounds. Mary’s life is the first occasion of this super-abundance of grace.
Our scientific knowledge can tell us human life began so many thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago. Our faith tells us that at the beginning God infused his Spirit into that life: His Image right from the moment of conception. Faith also tells us that at the second instance of life there was a fracture: a sin. We pick up on that in today's first reading about Adam and Eve. This reading is chosen for today's feast day because right in the heart of sin is a promise of redemption. Mary is the firstborn of this redemption. Her life is a prophecy of what is hidden in all life. +
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