"Death through Eve, Life through Mary"
Today the whole Church celebrates the mystery of Mary, the mother of God, who was born without the effects of original sin by a unique act of grace by God. This dogma was declared infallibly in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, but had been believed since the earliest days of the Church. Many people ask why we as Catholics believe this teaching and the answer is simple: God always finishes the stories he begins.
In our first reading from Genesis, we hear about how Eve listens to the serpent and brings death to herself, Adam, and all of humanity descended from them. However, unlike us when we sin, Eve had complete freedom because she was created without sin by God. In the state of original innocence, her will and her emotions were in harmony--which makes her act of disobedience all the worse because she could control her emotions if she chose. In case you're wondering, Adam isn't off the hook either because he too was created without sin and freely chose to sin...in some sense we could say that his sin is worse because he heard the command about the tree directly from God, while it is assumed Eve heard it from Adam secondhand. Yet, this story is not without hope in the end-- we hear that one day the head of the deceitful serpent will be crushed.
All of the "Characters" in our story have been exposed (Adam, Eve, and the Serpent) and now we must see the drama unfold. If you are impatient like me, you turn to the end of the story, the book of Revelation, and see Christ, the "new Adam" triumph over the dragon and marry his spotless bride, the Church-the new Jerusalem, who has been purified by His blood. And yet, this heavenly Jerusalem is also described as "the Woman...crowned with twelve stars" (Rev 12) who gives birth to the Savior. Mary is seen as an image of the immaculate Church we are called to be in heaven. How is this possible?
"Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you!" The angel Gabriel calls Mary by the name 'full of grace'--a name which says she is already full of grace before she says "yes" to giving birth to Jesus. What a mystery! As the dogma of the Immaculate conception says, this is possible because Mary is chosen before the foundation of the world to be the Mother of God--and like a "new Eve", she is created without original sin so that she is completely free to choose. All of creation waits, knowing that like Eve, she can say "no" to God's love.
With her "yes", her "fiat" to God's will, all creation rejoices! The disobedient sin of Eve has been countered by the obedience of the new Eve--Mary. Her Divine Son, Jesus, the New Adam, will soon deal the final blow to that ancient serpent on the cross, so that we might live free from the curse of death and sin.
Rejoice brothers and sisters, for because of Mary, we have assurance that the end of our own story will be full of glory! "O Mary, conceived without original sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!"
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