What, then, does the Immaculate Conception mean for all of us? The Solemnity’s second reading from Ephesians is a profound revelation as to how God elected Mary—and us, too!—from all eternity. The Solemnity’s responsorial psalm, whereby the gathered faithful chant the words from Psalm 97, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous deeds!” is yet another revelation of all this. We know, of course, that Mary’s election was unique. She alone was called to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word; for this, God graced her with freedom from original sin from her very conception. But Mary’s election and ours both belong to the same mystery of God’s infinite love: that of redemption and a hoped-for salvation for all! By preserving Mary from sin, God wished to show us that we, too, could be freed from sin. Although our freedom occurs after our birth through the rebirth of baptism, both what happened to Mary and what happens to us reflect God’s overwhelming, gracious love for mankind.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, therefore, is a day of celebration not only for Mary’s privilege, but also for us—indeed, for all human beings. For whatever God wills for one human being—Mary—God also wills for all human beings, namely, one’s entry into heaven and beholding of the Beatific Vision for all eternity.
Fr. Wade L. J. Menezes, C.P.M., is member of the Fathers of Mercy, a missionary preaching religious order based in Auburn, Kentucky.
