On today’s Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Church offers us the account of Adam and Eve in the Garden (Genesis, 3, 9-15. 20). If we back up a few verses, all the way to chapter 1, verse 1 of the Book of Genesis, we read: “In the beginning….” In the beginning, we were all created free. That is the heart of the “origin story.” We were all created free to care for creation and one another and free to live with the constant presence and company of God. Adam and Eve chose selfishly and foolishly, but the account of their fall is not exclusively about Adam and Eve – as though they were not part of us. Their story is our story. With our freedom, we choose again and again, often choosing selfishly and foolishly. After all, all sin is choosing in favor of ourselves – before our God and Creator.
In the beginning of her life, Mary, too, was free. “Conceived without sin” means that God set her apart and blessed her with the grace to never choose to put herself before her God and Creator. And she used her freedom to cooperate with God’s plan. So, not putting herself first, setting aside her own plans and future, she accepted what at first seemed impossible and even frightening. She accepted what she did not understand because she knew the goodness of God. She trusted in the plan God had for her, refusing to give in to the fear (or confusion) she had about what was to come.
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For reflection: In Luke 1, 26-38, the Angel tells Mary to rejoice and to set her fears aside. Each of these is possible (and necessary) because God is with her. Do we trust that God is with us? Do we live like it? Do we rely on His presence and company every day?
