Her saving grace - the origins of the Immaculate Conception

David Scott Writings ^ | December 8, 2006 | David Scott

[NYer]

David Scott is a writer and editor with a special interest in religion and culture. In a career that spans more than two decades, he has published hundreds of articles in journals and periodicals in the United States and abroad. His essays and reporting have appeared in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, as well as in National Review, Commonweal, Crisis, Inside the Vatican, National Catholic Register, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Beliefnet.com, and elsewhere.

Scott’s latest book is The Catholic Passion: Rediscovering the Power and Beauty of the Faith (Loyola Press, 2005). His previous books include: A Revolution of Love: The Meaning of Mother Teresa (Loyola Press, 2005), Praying in the Presence of the Lord with Dorothy Day (Our Sunday Visitor, 2002), and Weapons of the Spirit: The Selected Writings of Father John Hugo (Our Sunday Visitor, 1997), co–written with Mike Aquilina.

One of Scott’s essays was recently chosen for inclusion in The Best Catholic Writing 2005.

Scott holds an advanced degree in Religion and the Bible and is formerly editor of Our Sunday Visitor, the nation’s largest circulation independent Catholic newspaper. Currently he serves as editorial director of The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and managing editor of Center’s academic journal, Letter & Spirt. He is also a contributing editor to Godspy.com.

He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Sarah and their five children.

Contact: David@DavidScottWritings.com

[wagglebee]

Here we go again!

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[Salvation]

How many posts before the non-Catholics start their bashing tirades. Misinformed aren't they?

Why don't they believe these scriptures"

How could the Angel Gabriel ever pronounced Mary as "full of grace" if she were not special?

Read the Scriptures:

December 8, 2006

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Psalm: Friday 48

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.

[Salvation]

#5 and they were here! LOL!

(I knew it wouldn't even get to 10)

Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!

[Salvation]

Friday, December 8
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Where We Are Molded into the Image of Jesus

When Gabriel greets Mary, the world changes. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Each human being is caught up in the mystery that comes to life in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What we call the grace of adoption achieves its completion in baptism. But the mystery begins when the Word becomes man in the immaculate womb of a virgin whose name was Mary. Thenceforth her womb occupies a privileged place in the life of Christians. There we are molded into the image of Jesus Christ. We receive God’s favor. “ To live without God’s favor means to remain sterile and alone. It is a frightening prospect. There is never cause for discouragement, however. God made Mary immaculate to protect us from the vicious blackmail of the devil. His voice that, like the serpent in the garden, whispers, “You’ll never change. You’ll always be alone.” Only God can change man’s original plight. To announce this great reversal, he made the mother of his Son immaculate from the first moment of her conception. What happened to Mary in an instant happens to us progressively. She alone is the Morning Star. The rest of us find consolation in her Immaculate Conception. Like a good mother, Mary encourages us. She wants us to become fruitful and holy companions of her Son.

Reflection based on Luke 1:26-38
Father Romanus Cessario

Loving Father, change my plight of doubt, desolation, and defeat through the love and maternal mediation of Mary Immaculate.

[NYer]

The question keept surfacing on the other thread so I felt it was time to address it.

[Salvation]

Sure like your tinfoil hat! God bless!

[Cap'n Crunch]

Next stop: Co-redemptrix.

[Jaded]

Good luck to all of you! I'll catch up later on these threads.

Tomorrow I'm taking some of my Confirmation class to Tridentine Latin Mass.

Next weekend I get to go to a Scott Hahn workshop/retreat.

[NYer]

Next stop: Co-redemptrix.

Are you ready :-)?

[NYer]

Tomorrow I'm taking some of my Confirmation class to Tridentine Latin Mass.

Now that's exciting! How have you prepared them?

Next weekend I get to go to a Scott Hahn workshop/retreat.

You MUST fill us all in. Please post a thread about this retreat. Can you bring along a tape recorder? Would love to hear some of his commentary. Such a blessing, especially during Advent.

[Salvation]

Give us an update on both!

[Kolokotronis]

"Next stop: Co-redemptrix.

Are you ready :-)?"

Very, very dangerous territory, Nyer, unless the concept is approached from the Cappadocian Theotokos/Eve typology. If you want to get into it, it may be as good a time as any to a)lay to rest the misconceptions engendered by the term itself and b) maybe decide that there are far better ways to describe the Theotokos' role in God's plan for theosis than to call her the "Co-redemptrix".

[Iscool]

All this, from reading BETWEEN a few lines of scripture...

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

A most enjoyable and enlightening post, NYer! Keep up the good postings! :-)

[NYer]

All this, from reading BETWEEN a few lines of scripture...

All this from 2000 years of guidance by the Holy Spirit.