Fr. Raymond, 8th December - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (2)

Solemnity Community Mass, 

Monday 8 December 2014

Fr. Raymond. Mass Homily

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
OF MARY

St Bonaventure has a book entitled "The Glories of Mar," and among these glories we should surely count her great Privilege of being conceived immaculate. She never was touched by that original sin that infected the rest of us lesser mortals when we first entered this world. I wonder how many of us, when we first gave some thought to this doctrine, thought it a bit unfair in a way. We could so easily be tempted to think - it's alright for her! She never knew the temptations of the flesh the way we all do. - It's alright for her! She never was stirred by feelings of pride or lust, or envy or impatience or whatever!

But these thoughts are far from doing justice to Mary. Consider for a moment our first parents Adam and Eve. Just like Mary, they too were created immaculate, pure and spotless. It was only when they were put to the test and failed that they fell under the burden of original sin. Would any of us dare to think that, in their circumstances, we might have done better? It's also far from justice to Mary that we should think that she was never put to the test; that life was just a bed of roses for her; that she never had to undergo the every-day troubles and trials of life that the rest of us have to put up with. It's not just because she stood beneath the Cross of her dying Son that she deserves the name of Mother of Sorrows.

We need only think how from the very first moment of the conception of Jesus her trials multiplied. There was, from that very first moment, the agonizing problem of confronting Joseph with the news of her pregnancy. Can anyone imagine a situation more stressful for a young engaged woman than to tell her fiance that she is with child and that the child was not his? Then there followed the edict of Caesar and the forced journey to Bethlehem when her time was near to giving birth. The sheer physical stress of such a situation must have added greatly to the inevitable mental stress. Then there was the desperate search for a decent place for her to give birth; and all this climaxed in her having to give birth in a stable, of all places. You and I can now see what a wonderful and meaningful thing that was. But how did it seem to Mary and Joseph at the  time? Only their great faith and trust in Divine Providence could have saved them from sinking into despair.

Then their joy at the birth of the child was soon overshadowed by the threat to the child's life from Herod; then there was the panic of the flight into Egypt. Then there was the life in exile there, so far from family and friends, and especially with no loving grandparents nearby to dote over the child.

But besides all these great and rather dramatic trials there were the ordinary trials of village life in Nazareth when they eventually did manage to return. She was spared none of them. We can be sure that the devil saw to that! There would be the difficulty of awkward neighbours; the bullying of Jesus by older village boys perhaps. There would be the constant call upon Mary's time and energy by those who recognised a willing spirit. Here was someone unable to say no to any reasonable or even unreasonable request, someone unable to refuse help to anyone in need; not to mention her own spontaneous generosity. She would always be the first to offer her services without even being asked.

Mary's immaculate conception then was no mere honour and sinecure without any responsibilities. Noblesse Oblige, and we can be sure that Mary lived up to and fulfilled that dictum more than any other human being apart from her Son.