Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The liturgy provides us with the story of the fall of our first parents and the Annunciation. The scriptures, especially Paul, talks about Christ as the new Adam. The Fathers of the Church help us understand that Mary is the new Eve, and today’s liturgy invites us to meditate upon this great mystery. In the beginning, when God created men and women, He created us subject to a law. He gave us paradise with the single condition of obedience. We know, again from Saint Paul, that if our first parents, Adam and Eve, had obeyed the voice of God none of us would have ever known sin. Adam’s obedience would have been enough to prevent any of the rest of us from falling. We fell in Adam. In other words, Adam’s disobedience caused us all to become naturally disobedient.

If we turn now and look at how God saves us from that fall, the first person God has us look at in the New Testament – the first person we see recreated in God’s grace – is the Virgin Mary. Mary shows us a great example of how to be Christian. It is very simple, when God recreates humanity – when He recreates us – He does not give us another law: do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead He gives us the announcement of a mysterious divine person who will save us. He doesn’t give Mary a law to follow: He invites her to give birth to someone. That’s what makes our Christian life so special – the law doesn’t go away, but God invites us to something new. The Christian life is an invitation from God: God is inviting us to conceive in our hearts. He asks us to let the Word of God begin to live in our hearts like a seed. That seed will grow until it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.

Christian grace is so amazing – it is a gift from God. It is His presence in our lives and in our hearts. He grows in us in ways we do not and cannot fully comprehend. He saves us because we allow Him to dwell in our hearts richly, because we allow his Word to become fully alive in our souls. May our Lady of the Immaculate Conception inspire us today with the simple wisdom to let it be done unto us according to His Word. Her generosity itself was God’s gift to her, may God bless us with that same openness of heart.

Daily Readings

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
by USCCB on April 18, 2024 at 8:30 am
Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,“Get up and head south on the roadthat goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,a court official of the Candace,that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,in charge of her entire treasury,who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.The Spirit said to Philip,“Go and join up with that chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,“Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied,“How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him. This was the Scripture passage he was reading:Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,so he opened not his mouth.In his humiliation justice was denied him.Who will tell of his posterity?For his life is taken from the earth.Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?About himself, or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,he proclaimed Jesus to him.As they traveled along the roadthey came to some water,and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” Then he ordered the chariot to stop,and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,and he baptized him. When they came out of the water,the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,and the eunuch saw him no more,but continued on his way rejoicing. Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good newsto all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Bless our God, you peoples,loudly sound his praise;He has given life to our souls,and has not let our feet slip.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declarewhat he has done for me.When I appealed to him in words,praise was on the tip of my tongue.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Blessed be God who refused me notmy prayer or his kindness!R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 6:51 R. Alleluia, alleluia.I am the living bread that came down from heaven,says the Lord;whoever eats this bread will live forever.R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:44-51 Jesus said to the crowds:"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,and I will raise him on the last day.It is written in the prophets:They shall all be taught by God.Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.Not that anyone has seen the Fatherexcept the one who is from God;he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;this is the bread that comes down from heavenso that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven;whoever eats this bread will live forever;and the bread that I will giveis my Flesh for the life of the world." - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

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