Catechism Links
CCC 411, 489-493, 722, 2001, 2853: God’s preparation; the Immaculate Conception
CCC Cross Reference:
Gn 3:9-10 399; Gn 3:9 410, 2568; Gn 3:11-13 400; Gn 3:11 2515; Gn 3:12 1607; Gn 3:13 1736, 2568; Gn 3:14-19 2427; Gn 3:15 70, 410, 489; Gn 3:20 489
Eph 1:3-14 2627, 2641; Eph 1:3-6 381, 1077; Eph 1:3 492, 1671; Eph 1:4-5 52, 257; Eph 1:4 492, 796, 865, 1426, 2807; Eph 1:5-6 294; Eph 1:6 1083
Lk 1:26-38 497, 706, 723, 2571; Lk 1:26-27 488; Lk 1:26 332; Lk 1:28-37 494; Lk 1:28 490, 491; Lk 1:31 430, 2812; Lk 1:32-33 709; Lk 1:32 559; Lk 1:34 484, 497, 505; Lk 1:35 437, 484, 486, 697; Lk 1:37-38 494; Lk 1:37 148, 269, 273, 276; Lk 1:38 64, 148, 510, 2617, 2677, 2827, 2856
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Reading 1
Gn 3:9-15, 20
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the Lord God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The Lord God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The Lord has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Reading II
Eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Brothers and sisters:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
Gospel
Lk 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee 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.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Genesis 3:9 – 20
The Lord God called to the man. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it’. Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate’.
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,
all wild beasts.
You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust
every day of your life.
I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring.
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel.’
The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97(98):1-4
Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
Second reading Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,
to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ
for his own kind purposes,
to make us praise the glory of his grace,
his free gift to us in the Beloved.
And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory.
Gospel Luke 1:26 – 38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Solemnity: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
From: Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Temptation and the First Sin (Continuation)
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[9] But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" [10] And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." [11] He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?" [12] The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." [13] Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate." [14] The Lord said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. [15] I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
[20] The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
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Commentary:
3:7-13. This passage begins the description of the effects of the original sin. Man and woman have come to know evil, and it shows, initially, in a most direct way -- in their own bodies. The inner harmony described in Genesis 2:25 is broken, and concupiscence rears its head. Their friendship with God is also broken, and they flee from his presence, to avoid their nakedness being seen. As if his Creator could not see them! The harmony between man and woman is also fractured: he puts the blame on her, and she puts it on the serpent. But all three share in the responsibility, and therefore all three are going to pay the penalty.
"The harmony in which they found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered: the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions (cf. Gen 3:7-16), their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man (cf. Gen 3:17, 19). Because of man, creation is now subject 'to its bondage to decay' (Rom 8: 21). Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will 'return to the ground' (Gen 3:19), for out of it he was taken. 'Death makes its entrance into human history' (cf. Roman 5:12)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 400).
3:14-15. The punishment God imposes on the serpent includes confrontation between woman and the serpent, between mankind and evil, with the promise that man will come out on top. That is why this passage is called the "Proto-gospel": it is the first announcement to mankind of the good news of the Redeemer-Messiah. Clearly, a bruise to the head is deadly, whereas a bruise to the heel is curable.
As the Second Vatican Council teaches, "God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, (cf. In 1:3), provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities (cf. Rom 1:19-20). And furthermore, wishing to open up the way to heavenly salvation, by promising redemption (cf. Gen 3:15); and he has never ceased to take care of the human race. For he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience in well-doing (cf. Rom 2:6-7)" ("Dei Verbum", 3).
Victory over the devil will be brought about by a descendant of the woman, the Messiah. The Church has always read these verses as being messianic, referring to Jesus Christ; and it was seen in the woman the mother of the promised Savior; the Virgin Mary is the new Eve. "The earliest documents, as they are read in the Church and are understood in the light of a further and full revelation, bring the figure of a woman, Mother of the Redeemer, into a gradually clearer light. Considered in this light, she is already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the serpent which was given to our first parents after their fall into sin (cf. Gen 3:15) [...]. Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with Irenaeus in their preaching: 'the knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith' (St Irenaeus, "Adv. haer." 3, 22, 4) Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her 'Mother of the living' (St Epiphanius, "Adv. haer. Panarium" 78, 18) and frequently claim: 'death through Eve, life through Mary' (St Jerome, "Epistula" 22, 21; etc.)" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 55-56).
So, woman is going to have a key role in that victory over the devil. In his Latin translation of the Bible, the "Vulgate", St Jerome in fact reads the relevant passage as "she [the woman] shall bruise your head". That woman is the Blessed Virgin, the new Eve and the mother of the Redeemer, who shares (by anticipation and pre-eminently) in the victory of her Son. Sin never left its mark on her, and the Church proclaims her as the Immaculate Conception.
St Thomas explains that the reason why God did not prevent the first man from sinning was because 'God allows evils to be done in order to draw forth some greater good. Thus St Paul says, 'Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more' (Rom 5:20); and the "Exultet" sings, '0 happy fault,...which gained for us so great a Redeemer'" ("Summa Theologiae", 3, 1, 3 and 3; cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 412).
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From: Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Hymn of Praise
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[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. [5] He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, [6] to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
[11] In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, [12] we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.
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Commentary:
3-14. Verses 3-14 are a hymn of praise to God for the plan of salvation he has devised and brought to fulfillment in benefit of men and all creation. It is written in a liturgical style of rhythmic prose, similar to that in Colossians 1:15-20. In the Greek it is one long complex sentence full of relative pronouns and clauses which give it a designed unity; we can, however, distinguish two main sections.
The first (v. 3-10), divided into four stanzas, describes the blessings contained in God's salvific plan; St Paul terms this plan the "mystery" of God's will. The section begins by praising God for his eternal design, a plan, pre-dating creation, to call us to the Church, to form a community of saints (first stanza: vv. 3f) and receive the grace of being children of God through Jesus Christ (second stanza: vv. 5f). It then reflects on Christ's work of redemption which brings this eternal plan of God to fulfillment (third stanza: vv. 7f). This section reaches its climax in the fourth stanza (vv. 9f) which proclaims Christ as Lord of all creation, thereby revealing the full development of God's salvific plan.
The second section, which divides into two stanzas, deals with the application of this plan -- first to the Jews (fifth stanza: vv. 11f) and then to the Gentiles, who are also called to share what God has promised: Jews and Gentiles join to form a single people, the Church (sixth stanza: vv. 13f).
Hymns in praise of God, or "eulogies", occur in many parts of Sacred Scripture (cf. Ps 8; Ps 19; Dan 2:20-23; Lk 1:46-54, 68-78; etc.); they praise the Lord for the wonders of creation or for spectacular interventions on behalf of his people. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St Paul here praises God the Father for all Christ's saving work, which extends from God's original plan which he made before he created the world, right up to the very end of time and the recapitulation of all things in Christ.
We too should always have this same attitude of praise of the Lord. "Our entire life on earth should take the form of praise of God, for the never-ending joy of our future life consists in praising God, and no one can become fit for that future life unless he train himself to render that praise now" (St Augustine, "Enarrationes in Psalmos", 148).
Praise is in fact the most appropriate attitude for man to have towards God: "How can you dare use that spark of divine intelligence -- your mind -- in anything but in giving glory to your Lord?" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 782).
3. St Paul blesses God as Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because it is through Christ that all God's blessings and gifts reach us. God's actions in favor of man are actions of all three divine Persons; the divine plan which the Apostle considers here has its origin in the Blessed Trinity; it is eternal. "These three Persons are not to be considered separable," the Eleventh Council of Toledo teaches, "since we believe that not one of them existed or at any time effected anything before the other, after the other, or without the other. For in existence and operation they are found to be inseparable" ("De Trinitate" Creed, "Dz-Sch", 531).
In the implementation of this divine plan of salvation, the work of Redemption is attributed to the Son and that of sanctification to the Holy Spirit. "To help us grasp in some measure this unfathomable mystery, we might imagine the Blessed Trinity taking counsel together in their uninterrupted intimate relationship of infinite love. As a result of their eternal decision, the only-begotten Son of God the Father takes on our human condition and bears the burden of our wretchedness and sorrows, to end up sewn with nails to a piece of wood" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 95).
St Paul describes as "spiritual blessings" all the gifts which the implementation of God's plan implies, gifts which are distributed by the Holy Spirit. When he speaks of them as being "in the heavenly places" and "in Christ", he is saying that through Christ who has risen from the dead and ascended on high we too have been inserted into the world of God (cf. 1:20; 2:6).
When man describes God as "blessed" it means he recognizes God's greatness and goodness, and rejoices over the divine gifts he has received (cf. Lk 1:46, 68). Here is what St Thomas Aquinas has to say about the meaning of this passage: "The Apostle says, 'Benedictus' [Blessed be the God ...], that is, may I, and you, and everyone bless him, with our heart, our mouth, our actions -- praising him as God and as Father, for he is God because of his essence and Father because of his power to generate" ("Commentary on Eph.", 1, 6).
Sacred Scripture very often invites us to praise God our Lord (cf. Ps 8:19; 33; 46- 48; etc.); this is not a matter only of verbal praise: our actions should prove that we mean what we say: "He who does good with his hands praises the Lord, and he who confesses the Lord with his mouth praises the Lord. Praise him by your actions" (St Augustine, "Enarrationes in Psalmos", 91, 2).
4. As the hymn develops, the Apostle details each of the blessings contained in God's eternal plan. The first of these is his choice, before the foundation of the world, of those who would become part of the Church. The word he uses, translated here as "chose", is the same one as used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to refer to God's election of Israel. The Church, the new people of God, is constituted by assembling in and around Christ those who have been chosen and called to holiness. This implies that although the Church was founded by Christ at a particular point in history, its origin goes right back to the eternal divine plan. 'The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness,... 'predestined (the elect) to be conformed to the image of his Son in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren' (Rom 8:29). He determined to call together in a holy Church those who believe in Christ. Already present in figure at the beginning of the world, this Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Alliance. Established in this last age of the world, and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit, it will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 2).
God's choice seeks to have us become "holy and blameless before him". In the same way as in the Old Testament a victim offered to God had to be unblemished, blameless (cf. Gen 17:1), the blameless holiness to which God has destined us admits of no imperfection. By the very fact of being baptized we are made holy (cf. note on 1: 1), and during our lifetime we try to grow holier with the help of God; however, complete holiness is something we shall attain only in heaven.
The holiness with which we have been endowed is an undeserved gift from God: it is not a reward for any merit on our part: even before we were created God chose us to be his: "'He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy.' I know that such thoughts don't fill you with pride or lead you to think yourself better than others. That choice, the root of your vocation, should be the basis of your humility. Do we build monuments to an artist's paintbrush? Granted the brush had a part in creating masterpieces, but we give credit only to the painter. We Christians are nothing more than instruments in the hands of the Creator of the world, the Redeemer of all men" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 1).
"He destined us in love": the loving initiative is God's. "If God has honored us with countless gifts it is thanks to his love, not to our merits. Our fervor, our strength, our faith and our unity are the fruit of God's benevolence and our response to his goodness" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Eph, ad loc".).
God's election of Christians and their vocation to holiness, as also the gift of divine filiation, reveals that God is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8); we have become partakers of God's very nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:4), sharers, that is, in the love of God.
"He destined us in love", therefore, also includes the Christian's love of God and of others: charity is a sharing in God's own love; it is the essence of holiness, the Christian's law; nothing has any value if it is not inspired by charity (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-3).
5. The Apostle goes on to explore the further implications of God's eternal plan: those chosen to form part of the Church have been given a second blessing, as it were, by being predestined to be adoptive children of God. 'The state of this people is that of the dignity and freedom of the sons of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium, 9).
This predestination to which the Apostle refers means that God determined from all eternity that the members of the new people of God should attain holiness through his gift of adoptive sonship. It is God's desire that all be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4) and he gives each person the means necessary for obtaining eternal life. Therefore, no one is predestined to damnation (cf. Third Council of Valence, "De Praedestinatione", can. 3).
The source of the Christian's divine sonship is Jesus Christ. God's only Son, one in substance with the Father, took on human nature in order to make us sons and daughters of God by adoption (cf. Rom 8:15, 29; 9:4; Gal 4:5). This is why every member of the Church can say: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are" (1 Jn 3:1).
What is involved here is not simply formal adoption, which is something external and does not affect the very person of the child. Divine adoption affects man's entire being, it inserts him into God's own life; for Baptism makes us truly his children, partakers of the divine nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:4). Divine sonship is therefore the greatest of the gifts God bestows on man during his life on earth. It is indeed right to exclaim "Blessed be God" (v. 3) when one reflects on this great gift: it is right for children openly to acknowledge their father and show their love for him.
Divine filiation has many rich effects as far as the spiritual life is concerned. "A child of God treats the Lord as his Father. He is not obsequious and servile; he is not merely formal and well-mannered: he is completely sincere and trusting. God is not shocked by what we do. Our infidelities do not wear him out. Our Father in heaven pardons any offense when his child returns to him, when he repents and asks for pardon. The Lord is such a good father that he anticipates our desire to be pardoned and comes forward to us, opening his arms laden with grace" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 64). See the notes on Jn 1:12.
6. The gift of divine filiation is the greatest expression of the glory of God (cf. note on 1:17 below), because it reveals the full extent of God's love for man. St Paul stresses what the purpose of this eternal divine plan is -- to promote "the praise of his glorious grace". God's glory has been made manifest through his merciful love, which has led him to make us his children in accordance with the eternal purpose of his will. This eternal design "flows from 'fountain-like love', the love of God the Father [...]. God in his great and merciful kindness freely creates us and, moreover, graciously calls us to share in his life and glory. He generously pours out, and never ceases to pour out, his divine goodness, so that he who is Creator of all things might at last become 'everything to everyone' (1 Cor 15:28), thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our happiness" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes",
2).
The grace which St Paul speaks of here and which manifests the glory of God refers first to the fact that God's blessings are totally unmerited by us and include the grace-conferring gifts of holiness and divine filiation.
"In the Beloved": the Old Testament stresses again and again that God loves his people and that Israel is that cherished people (cf. Deut 33:12; is 5:1, 7; 1 Mac 6:11; etc.). In the New Testament Christians are called "beloved by God" (1 Thess 1:4; cf. Col 3:12). However, there is only one "Beloved", strictly speaking, Jesus Christ our Lord -- as God revealed from the bright cloud at the Transfiguration: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Mt 17:5). The Son of his love has obtained man's redemption and brought forgiveness of sins (cf. Col 1:13ff), and it is through his grace that we become pleasing to God, lovable by him with the same love with which he loves his Son. At the Last Supper, Jesus asked his Father for this very thing -- "so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me" (Jn 17:23). "Notice", St John Chrysostom points out, "that Paul does not say that this grace has been given us for no purpose but that it has been given us to make us pleasing and lovable in his eyes, now that we are purified of our sins" ("Hom. on Eph, ad loc.").
11-14. The Apostle now contemplates a further divine blessing -- the implementation of the "mystery" through the Redemption wrought by Christ: God calls the Jews (vv. 11f) and the Gentiles (v. 13) together, to form a single people (v. 14). Paul first refers to the Jewish people, of which he himself is a member, which is why he uses the term "we" (v. 12). He then speaks of the Gentile Christians and refers to them as "you" (v. 13).
11-12. The Jewish people's expectations have been fulfilled in Christ: he has brought the Kingdom of God and the messianic gifts, designed in the first instance for Israel as its inheritance (cf. Mt 4:17; 12:28; Lk 4:16-22). God's intention in selecting Israel was to form a people of his own (cf. Ex 19:5) that would glorify him and proclaim to the nations its hope in a coming Messiah. "God, with loving concern contemplating, and making preparation for, the salvation of the whole human race, in a singular undertaking chose for himself a people to whom he would entrust his promises. By his covenant with Abraham (cf. Gen 15:18) and, through Moses, with the race of Israel (cf. Ex 24:8), he did acquire a people for himself, and to them he revealed himself in words and deeds as the one, true, living God, so that Israel might experience the ways of God with men. Moreover, by listening to the voice of God speaking to them through the prophets, they had steadily to understand his ways more fully and more clearly, and make them more widely known among the nations (cf. Ps 21:28-9; 95:1-3; Is 2:1-4; Jer 3: 17)" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 14).
St Paul emphasizes that even before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the just of the Old Testament acted in line with their belief in the promised Messiah (cf. Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17); not only did they look forward to his coming but their hope was nourished by faith in Christ as a result of their acceptance of God's promise. As later examples of this same faith we might mention Zechariah and Elizabeth; Simeon and Anna; and, above all, St Joseph. St Joseph's faith was "full, confident, complete", St. Escriva comments. "It expressed itself in an effective dedication to the will of God and an intelligent obedience. With faith went love. His faith nurtured his love of God, who was fulfilling the promises made to Abraham, Jacob and Moses, and his affection for Mary his wife and his fatherly affection for Jesus. This faith, hope and love would further the great mission which God was beginning in the world through, among others, a carpenter in Galilee -- the redemption of mankind" ("Christ Is Passing By", 42).
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From: Luke 1:26-38
The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God
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[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
[30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end."
[34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "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. [36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
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Commentary:
26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness; [...] the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as 'full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28), and to the heavenly messenger she replies, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving will and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him, serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 56).
The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most important event in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will remain so forever, such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. And yet on the day when the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of any kind.
St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.
27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed this through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God, "before all ages made choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother for His only-begotten Son from whom He, after being made flesh, should be born in the blessed fullness of time: and He continued His persevering regard for her in preference to all other creatures, to such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a virgin and a mother at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was the work of the Holy Spirit "who at the conception and the birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St. Pius V Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We believe that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of virginity, was the Mother of the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of God", 14).
Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary means, most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady". However, no single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.
28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!", obviously referring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is about to communicate.
"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals Mary's special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church "taught that this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit", which meant that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was preserved from all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one of the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").
"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the Lord be with you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and they are closely connected with the Incarnation. St. Augustine comments by putting these words on the archangel's lips: "He is more with you than He is with me: He is in your heart, He takes shape within you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De Nativitate Domini", 4).
Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end of the verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will exalt Mary over all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Rachel, Judith, etc., for only she has the supreme honor of being chosen to be the Mother of God.
29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the confusion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.
30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the vocation which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel sets her mind at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is helping her to overcome that initial fear which a person normally experiences when God gives him or her a special calling. The fact that Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfection in her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the supernatural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this fear or rejected the advice of those in a position to help -- as St. Gabriel helped Mary.
31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which will find its fulfillment in Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).
He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His being God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness of human nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the Davidic dynasty sent by God in keeping with His promise of salvation; that His Kingdom will last forever, for His humanity will remain forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called Son of the Most High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High and will be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of God.
The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which foretold these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred Scripture, clearly realized that she was to be the Mother of God.
34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "'Virgo fidelis', the faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. 'Quomodo fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation [...]."
"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a 'fiat': Let it be done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the 'how': that there are in God's plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely [...]."
"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practices and what one believes: this is consistency[...]."
"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's 'fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent 'fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral", 26 January 1979).
34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not doubt as Zechariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this be?", expresses her readiness to obey the will of God even though at first sight it implied a contradiction: on the one hand, she was convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin; on the other, here was God also announcing that she would become a mother. The archangel announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed impossible, according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention on the part of God.
Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very unusual, not in line with the practice of righteous people under the Old Covenant, for, as St. Augustine explains, "particularly attentive to the propagation and growth of the people of God, through whom the Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied and be born, the saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("DeBono Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who, in keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate -- for example, Jeremiah, Elijah, Eliseus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 48).
35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was journeying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle and a cloud covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the tablets of the Law, a cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of a cloud (Luke 9:35).
At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady -- an expression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God -- which, according to the account in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters, bringing things to life -- now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Bl. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.
38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with prompt obedience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between what she is going to become -- the Mother of God -- and what she is -- a woman. However, this is what God wants to happen and for Him nothing is impossible; therefore no one should stand in His way. So Mary, combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly to God's call: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to your word."
"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh" (St. J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the pure body of Mary, God shaped a new body, He created a soul out of nothing, and the Son of God united
Himself with this body and soul: prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but also man. Mary is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first defined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins to be the spiritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is dying -- 'Behold, your son..., behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27) -- simply promulgates what came about silently at Nazareth. "With her generous 'fiat' (Mary) became, through the working of the Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).
The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of "purity" (the RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility" ("Behold, I am the hand maid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity" ("How can this be?"); of "obedience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done to me according to your word"). "Following her example of obedience to God, we can learn to serve delicately without being slavish. In Mary, we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine will: 'Behold, I am the hand-maid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'. Isn't that marvelous? The Blessed Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience to God is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly moved to discover the 'freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans 8: 21)" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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