Good morning faithful children of the Lord Jesus!  How pleased
the Blessed Virgin Mary must be to see your presence here today to
celebrate her special Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  

     Today's readings are related to Marian theology that goes as
far back as the 4 th century.  In those days, theologians taught
that Mary had been kept free of all sin by God because she was to
be the Mother of the Lord Jesus.  This belief coexisted with Mary's
perpetual virginity, her sinlessness, and her divine motherhood. 
Church history tells us that by the 7th century, there was a
liturgical observance proclaiming the Blessed Virgin Mary's freedom
from sin.

     It was not until December 8, 1854, after Pope Pius IX had
consulted all the Bishops of the world, that he pronounced and
defined in the Ineffabilis Deus the Immaculate Conception of
the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This dogma states that the Blessed Virgin
Mary, "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular
privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus
Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all
stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore
to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful." 

     In summary, this dogma proclaims that the soul of the Blessed
Virgin Mary who was the tabernacle created by God Himself for the
purpose of the incarnation, was never subject to original sin, but
completely preserved from the original taint.  In other words, the
Blessed Virgin Mary was created immaculate by God as the new Eve,
equal to the first Eve that was created immaculate by God.

     Church documents reveal to us that in the 8 th century, St.
Germanus was one of the most important early witnesses in his
sermons on Our Lady's Falling-Asleep.  In those days, he
acknowledged that in Mary, there already appeared a threefold
incorruption which we shall one day all receive, of body, soul and
spirit.  In other words, Mary was preserved from all stain of
original sin, soul, spirit and body, at the first moment of her
creation.

     In Genesis 2:21-3, we learn that God created the first woman
who was called Eve.  As a result of the woman allowing herself to
be tricked by the serpent [Gen. 3:13] and Adam also eating the
fruit of the forbidden tree that Eve had given him, [Gen. 3:11-2]
both lost the glory that they enjoyed in the Garden of Eden because
the gift that they had received from God was conditional.  

     The conditional gift of God is similar to someone indefinitely
placing you and your children and their children in trust of an
island as long as you do not pollute it.  If you pollute the
island, you will be expelled from it.  As such, none of your
descendants will be able to enjoy the island because you will have
lost your right to it.

     In Adam and Eve's case, they were created immaculate in soul,
spirit and body for the Divine purpose of being eternal children of
God.  In that original state of sinlessness, they could not die. 
They had eternal life.

     But because they refused to trust and obey God, tempted by
Satan who was an angelic being who had rebelled against God, they
decided to do what they wanted.  They disobeyed God by sinning. 
Consequently, sin was transmitted to the entire human race,
depriving Adam and Eve's descendants of the original state of
holiness and justice that they enjoyed. [CCC. 404]

     Following the disobedience of our first parents in the Garden
of Eden, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and
you will strike his heel." [Gen. 3:15]  The seed of the woman who
will crush the head of the serpent is Christ, the woman at enmity
with the serpent being the Blessed Virgin Mary.

     As soon as the Kingdom of God was corrupted by Satan, the 
holy and eternal soul, spirit and body of God's children became
subject to death.  Therefore, God instituted a redemptive plan to
reinstate His eternal Kingdom.  Through the new Adam, Christ, and
the new Eve, the Blessed Virgin Mary, God planned to reclaim His
kingdom and save His people from eternal death.

     In today's Second Reading, we bless God the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ who has blessed us through Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places.  Through our living faith in
Christ, we now have the blessed hope of enjoying our rightful
inheritance that was taken from us.  Through our free will, we now
have the opportunity to be holy and blameless before God in love as
the Blessed Virgin Mary was holy and blameless throughout her life.

     We now have the hope of progressively receiving a holy soul,
spirit and body equal to the glory that the Blessed Virgin Mary
already enjoys.  Through our Baptism, we receive the gift of our
new human spirit of the godly seed.  Through our living faith we
receive the righteousness of our soul.  At the resurrection of the
bodies, we will finally receive the new eternal body that will
glorify our entire being, soul, spirit and body.

     God called us to be His adopted children through Jesus Christ,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His
glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

     In today's Gospel Reading, we heard the words of the angel
Gabriel, "Greetings, favoured one!" [Lk. 1:28]  The actual words
from the translated Latin Vulgate Bible are, "Hail, full of grace!"
From these words, the angel Gabriel was expressing that the Blessed
Virgin Mary enjoyed a unique state of grace that far surpassed the
creation of all men and the angels.  Her soul, spirit and body were
immaculate because of her immaculate conception.

     Not only was the Blessed Virgin Mary immaculate in her
conception, but she remained faithful and immaculate to God to the
end of her earthly life.

     Through the Immaculate Conception of Mary who fully cooperated
with the Divine Plan of God, we are led to Jesus.  The glorious
Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a reminder that the Blessed
Virgin Mary is the new Eve, our spiritual Mother, she who has
become co-redeemer with Christ in our salvation by allowing herself
to become the humble instrument and Sacred Temple of the Living
God.

     As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us
be thankful to the Immaculate Conception for answering her special
calling that leads to our salvation.  Let us praise her for having
remained immaculate to the end.  Let us look up to her, a precious
gem of the Holy Catholic Church, as a perfect model of virtue.

(Ref: Apostolic Constitution of Pius IX, "Defining the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception", Ineffabilis Deus by Most Rev. John R. Sheets, S.J.; Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 491-2; "Christ's Mother & Our" by Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, C.M.; Catholic Encyclopedia, "Immaculate Conception", article # 07674D at "http://www.knight.org/advent/"; "A Catholic Dictionary of Theology," by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd (1961), Volume 1, page 175)

"When the man had eaten from the tree, the Lord God called to him, and said, 'Where are you?' The man said, 'I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.'

God said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?' The man said, 'The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.' Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this that you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent tricked me, and I ate.' The Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.'

The man named his wife 'Eve,' because she was the mother of all the living." [Gen. 3:9-15, 20]

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according tot he good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory." [Eph. 1:3-6, 11-2]

"The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The Virgin's name was Mary.

And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.'

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be end.'

Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?'

The angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.'

Then Mary said, 'Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.' Then the angel departed from her." [Lk. 1:26-38]

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