Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 2012

Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 2012

Epistle, Proverbs 8: 22-35     Gospel, Luke 1: 26-28

           

“Hail, full of grace,” the Archangel Gabriel said to Mary when he greeted her. It is from this greeting that the Church Fathers conclude that Mary was conceived and born without sin and, further, that sanctifying grace increased in her throughout her life. Therefore, she was “full of grace.”

“Blessed are thou among women,” Gabriel said. St. Augustine’s opinion is that Mary is more blessed because she bore the Son of God in her heart than that she bore Him in her womb. That is to say, she is more blessed through sanctifying grace than through her Divine Motherhood. What a precious gift from Heaven this sanctifying grace is then. In fact, it is more precious than all that the world can offer us. There are three aspects of sanctifying grace we will look at briefly today.  First and foremost, sanctifying grace is our true human dignity. Secondly, it is our true wealth, and thirdly, it is our true happiness in this life and in the next. 

The first aspect, sanctifying grace raises us to our true dignity as children of God. We became a child of God at our Baptism when original sin was washed away and sanctifying grace entered our souls. In this world the child of a King is a prince who belongs to a royal family and is a possible heir to the throne. But our dignity is greater than this as children of God, the King of Kings and we are heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven as members of His Royal Family. A beggar and a billionaire can both be raised to this high dignity through sanctifying grace.

A wise king once gave this advice to his son: “Wherever you are, remember always that you are a King’s son, and conduct yourself according to this high dignity.” This is good advice for us, too. Let us remember that we are children of God and conduct ourselves according to this dignity. Avoid everything that is low and mean, avoid conversations and actions which dishonor God and practice works of mercy.

The second aspect is that while sanctifying grace makes us truly great, it also makes us truly wealthy. Many in this world who are rich, are poor when they stand before God and many who are poor in this world are rich before God. Those who do not have sanctifying grace are poor, but those who have it are rich. Remember that the only thing from this life that you will bring with you to heaven is sanctifying grace. Everything else will be left behind. That is why sanctifying grace is the greatest treasure in the world.

Under the Old Law the Book of Wisdom 7: 2 tells us: “Now all good things come to me together with her [meaning wisdom], and innumerable riches through her hands.”  Under the New Law, with sanctifying grace come all other graces because with it we are members of that body, of which Jesus Christ is the head. When we possess sanctifying grace we share in the merits of Jesus and His saints, and in the treasure of grace Jesus left to His Church. We can say along with Psalm 118: 63: “I am a partaker with all them that fear thee, and that keep thy commandments.” We share in all the prayers and good works done by the Saints and the just because we stand in a living communion with them, which is called the Communion of Saints.

Solomon prayed for one thing: wisdom. It was granted to him and along with wisdom all good came to him at the same time. Let us pray to God and to Mary for one thing: sanctifying grace, because with that comes all good.

The third aspect of sanctifying grace is true happiness. Where sanctifying grace is, there also is a good conscience. If our conscience is troubled by the weight of deadly sins, also called mortal sins, we cannot be happy. So where a good conscience is you will find sanctifying grace and true happiness. In a soul weighed down with mortal sins you will not find happiness because the Holy Ghost cannot enter into such a soul.

Sanctifying grace also gives us hope to get us through the sad and difficult times we all suffer through in life. This hope allows us to say along with St. Paul, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8: 18)  Sanctifying grace, coupled with a good conscience, also brings us consolation and support during those times of suffering.

“There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.” (Isaias 48:22) If the wicked have no peace, they also do not have consolation in life or in death. They are unhappy in time and in eternity. Let us avoid wickedness and sin and pray to Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, that we will have a pure heart and a soul that is full of grace. +++

We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass

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