“SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER”
Daily Spiritual Reflections
8th December 2021
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WEDNESDAY, SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
Solemnity Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gn 3:9-15,20; Ps 98:1-4; Eph 1:3-6,11-12; Lk 1:26-38
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PURE AND BLAMELESS BEFORE GOD
Today the Catholic Church calls her children to reminisce the great act of God to save mankind. Mary was conceived immaculately in the womb of Saint Anne, the wife of Joaquim, in preparation for the birth of Jesus through her womb. Today we also mark the end of the year dedicated to St Joseph - the man whom the Lord Jesus called father. It’s a Roman Catholic dogma that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved free from the effects of the sin of Adam from the first instant of her conception. This is logical, especially after Mary had been solemnly declared to be the mother of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431.
In Genesis, we see Adam and Eve were created immaculate, that is without original sin or its stain. However, in today’s first reading we see them fall from grace. Through them, the whole of humankind was bound to sin. On the other hand, Christ and Mary were also conceived immaculate, but they remained faithful, and through them, mankind was redeemed from sin. Christ is thus the New Adam and Mary the New Eve. St Irenaeus of Lyons, a father of the Church and who will be soon raised as the 37th Doctor of the Church says, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.”
Only those who die in God’s friendship, go to heaven. In this life, God purifies us and trains us in holiness. If we die in his friendship but imperfectly purified, he will purify us in purgatory and render us immaculate. By giving Mary this grace from the first moment of her conception, God shows us an image of our own destiny and that this is possible for us humans only by his grace. Pope Francis reflects, “What Mary had from the beginning, will be ours in the end, after we have passed through the purifying ‘bath’ of God’s grace.”
He also brings to our notice that the first person who entered paradise was a “ruffian: one of the two who was crucified with Jesus.” This, he said, is a sign that God’s grace is offered to everyone. Pope Francis went on to warn Christians to “be careful”. “It does not pay to be clever – to continually postpone a serious evaluation of one’s own life, taking advantage of the Lord’s patience.” He said there is no time like the present day.
Purity of Heart (Puritas Cordis in Latin) is an important concept in Carmelite spirituality. Mary is seen as its greatest exemplar and embodiment. The medieval Carmelites were among the most fervent promoters of the doctrine of Mary’s ‘Immaculate Conception,’ which was not formally proclaimed a dogma of the Catholic Church until 1854. Medieval Carmelite writer Felip Ribot said that the goal of the Carmelite life is to offer to God a holy heart purified from all sin. The most pure Virgin, is seen as the perfect model of one who was totally available for union with God.
To explain the significance of purity from a Carmelite perspective, the Carmelite theologian Christopher O’Donnell, uses the imagery of a milk jug. The purpose of a milk jug is to dispense milk. In order to do so, it must be clean; if the milk jug is dirty, then the milk will become infected. Then, if the purpose of a milk jug is to dispense milk, it can be as clean as you like but again if it’s empty, it is useless. This is an analogy of the human heart. Its purpose is to pour out love for others. If our hearts are impure, then what we ‘pour out’ to others will be infected. Secondly, there is no point in having a pure heart simply to leave it empty; the point of purity is not an end in itself but a means to be useful for others.
All of us are called to have a heart undivided for God, free from our own selfish motives and desires so that God’s will be done in us. Contemporary society often associates ‘purity’ with puerile notions of sex. There is more to purity than the proper use of the sexual faculties. Let us take time today to see in our life whether our thoughts, words or deeds are generated in a heart that is pure like Mother Mary, free from sin.
Response: O sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders.
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