The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)
Think back to a time when you were chosen for some special privilege or honor. Maybe your employer chose you for a position over other qualified applicants. Or perhaps your teammates chose you as captain because of your ability to lead others. It’s a good feeling to be singled out in such a way. Or think about how you felt when your future husband or wife chose to marry you and spend the rest of their life with you.
We believe that God chose Mary, before the creation of the world, to be the Mother of God. And because he had chosen her for that unique role, he prepared her in a special way. He preserved her from original sin and gave her to two devout, faithful parents.
The God who chose Mary has also chosen you—and from the beginning of creation as well. He knew you. He intended for you to be born. He wanted you so much, in fact, that he sent his Son to redeem you.
Being chosen by God “before the foundation of the world” means that you are loved, not for what you do, but for who you are (Ephesians 1:4). It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the best job résumé or if you are the captain of the team. All those special honors—important though they may be—pale in comparison to the fact that God chose you and loves you just as you are. You are not just one small cog in the mass of humanity. You have great value and worth in God’s eyes.
Being chosen by God also means that he has a plan and purpose for your life. You matter, and so does your mission in this life. Each of us, says Pope Francis, “is a mission, planned by the Father to reflect and embody . . . the Gospel” (On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, 19).
Today, as you celebrate Mary’s special role in God’s plan, ask God to show you how special you are to him. Ask him to show you the unimaginable love he has had for you from “the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).
“Holy Mary, pray that I may know how wonderful it is to be chosen by God!”
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm 98:1-4
Luke 1:26-38
Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem (?-639)
monk, Bishop
Homily for the Annunciation, 2 (PG 87,3, 3241)
Mary, “full of grace” in her Immaculate Conception
“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” What greater thing could there be than such a joy, O Virgin Mary? What could there be of greater worth than the grace that you alone have received as your lot on the part of God? What more joyful or more splendid could be imagined? All other things are left far behind the wonder that is yours; all stand beneath your grace. The most unquestionable of privileges takes only second place and possesses far less splendour.
“The Lord is with you.” Who would dare dispute with you on this point? God is born from you. Is there anyone who would not immediately yield their place to you, joyfully leaving you with the first place and excellence? Therefore, when I behold you placed above all creatures I cry aloud your praises: “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” This joy, which comes forth from you is not granted to men alone but to all the angelic powers of heaven, too…
God himself dwells bodily in your womb; he comes forth as a Bridegroom (Ps 19 [18]:6) to bring joy and divine illumination to all mankind. It is within you, O Virgin, that God has “set up his abode” (cf Ps 76 [75]:3) as in a pure and luminous sky. From you “he comes forth like the groom from his bridal chamber”; like “a giant’s course, he runs the course” of his life, which is to bring salvation to all the living. Reaching like the sun “from one end of the heavens to the other” (Ps 19 [18]:6-7), he will fill all things with his divine warmth and life-giving light.