Luke, 1:26-38:
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "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 called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, that Mary was born without original sin, thus preparing her to be the Mother of God.
Inn the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by the devil in the form of a serpent and disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; she tempted Adam who also ate. Both were expelled from the Garden of Eden. We do Bible Studies in 6th Grade of CCD. I ask my class, "Is that fair?" Those who say "Yes" say God only gave them one rule, why is that so hard to obey. Those who say "No" say they should have received another chance. To which we answer, the second chance is what the whole rest of the Bible is about.
In this Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, we have a stained glass window dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. It is the first window on the right, my left, directly behind the Blessed Sacrament Chapel where the Host is kept. The center panel shows Mary Immaculate with the serpent crushed beneath her foot. Beneath is the heraldic shield of Pope Pius IX who governed the Church for 32 years, the second longest time after Peter. The panel to the left has the ship of the Church, Papal Infallibility. When the pope speaks ex cathedra, from his Chair he is infallible. He has only done that once, on the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1854, 100 years before the cornerstone for this Church was laid. Pope Pius IX also convened the first Vatican Council in 1869, broken up in 1870 when Garibaldi conquered the Papal States.
Gabriel: God's able-bodied one, or hero of God ,strong one of God.
David was the ancestor of Joseph. David was also the ancestor of Mary.
Mary said "Yes" overturning the sin of Eve, who on the Devil's urging disobeyed God the Father and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - original sin.
There have been many aberrations of Marian piety, and we need to stay close to the authentic tradition. St Ambrose gave it luminous expression in his comment on this passage. "Every soul who has believed both conceives and generates the Word of God and recognises his works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult in Christ."
Compare Mary's visit from the angel Gabriel with Zechariah's visit from the same angel Gabriel [My name is Gabriel. I stand before God.] Mary a humble young virgin in her home. Zechariah a priest of the Jewish faith in the Temple charged with responsibility for the holy of holies, the sanctuary, the Tabernacle. While Mary believes, Zechariah doubts and is struck dumb for his impertinence.
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