Mary's Day

Today, we celebrate Mary's special privilege of being free from sin from her conception.  The Church has always believed that Mary was specially favoured, as the greeting from the Angel Gabriel implied in Luke's account of the Annunciation, and this was made an article of faith in 1854.  Remember that, when little Bernadette Soubirous asked the beautiful lady who appeared to her at Lourdes who she was, the lady answered: "I am the Immaculate Conception."  That was beyond Bernadette's understanding of course,  but the Bishops and priests around her understood what she meant. It was Our Lady herself who was appearing on the rock in Massabielle - she was using her title to help them to realise who she was.

We believe that Mary, as Mother of God, is, as Wordsworth said in the Ecclesiastical sonnets : "Our tainted nature's solitary boast."  He meant that Mary never went into that darkness patrolled by Satan and his cohorts which we call sin.  She was always so close to God that sin never entered her soul.  She was born without original sin, which we know is the tendency we have to allow ourselves to be pulled into sin, into doing things that harm us.  St. Paul, even though he was a great Saint, once said, ruefully, to the Christians of Rome:

"I know of nothing good living in me -living that is,  in my unspiritual self - for though the will to do good is in me, what I do is not, with the result that, instead of doing the good things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want."  That is called original sin.  We know that feeling well.   We are pulled into sin, or tempted to sin, and we often don't resist it.  But Paul goes on to encourage us - he says that, in the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to resist the attacks of Satan, and live in the light. 

Mary is the fresh breath that blows away the darkness and despair that sometimes seem to cover our world.  She reaches out to us, heals our fears, our loneliness and our pain, and makes us feel better.  That's the work of a good mother.  She is our best friend, as my mother always used to tell us.  She really is.  She understands us, and never judges us.  She wants us to "do good" as the slogan puts it.  She is our role model.  She wants the young people of our world, in particular, to use the gifts God gave them, enthusiasm, energy, joy and so much else, to bring life and love into our world.  You think that doesn't include you?  You're not young any longer?  Wrong.  If you have the Holy Spirit in your heart, if you "act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God" you will always be young in heart.  Isn't that a comforting thought?  Ask Mary to look after you today, to be your friend, to keep you young, beautiful and joy-filled.  She'll do it.  Let's pray to her:

Mary, our Mother, we wish you a happy feast.  We love you very much, and we want you to befriend us, to show us what we ought to do to be heralds of the Gospel, so that its good news may reach the ends of the earth.  Be with all those who are in dangerous places today, those who are sick, those who are bitter and angry.  Help them, and us, to be better people, more loving, more generous, more thoughtful, and help us to have thankful hearts, so that we can say exultingly with you: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!"    Have a good day.