A REFLECTION OF LIFE
By God's grace she was freed
and empowered, from the first moment of her existence, to be utterly open to
love.
I have read obituaries that
had been written by the deceased person themselves. Perhaps they had a terrible
disease and knew it was terminal; even obituaries written by someone who was
still at a young age. In these short stories of their lives we hear words of
gratitude for a full, meaningful life, satisfying work, long, loving
relationships and friendships. I'm sure they suffered great pain during their
lifetime, and many of us also have some very difficult or bad days. But in the
end, bitterness had no place in their final act of self-expression.
They declared that
relationships were ultimately the most important thing, and they encouraged
those of us reading their last message to "go out and create moments that
will take your breath away." This is an example of how a life can have
coherence, how the pure essence of a person's being can unfold and blossom over
time, how what is present from the beginning can manifest itself and bear
fruit. I imagine these people are those who lived wholeheartedly, who, in spite
of tremendous challenges, said "yes" to their own unique and
unrepeatable lives.
The Immaculate Conception is
an attempt to say the same thing about Mary. Her life was held together and
carried forward by her complete assent to the task she was given. By God's
grace she was freed and empowered, from the first moment of her existence, to
be utterly open to love. Some people may feel confused or even repelled by the
adjective "immaculate", as if Mary's purity or spotlessness are
comparative terms by which the rest of humanity is found unworthy or befouled.
This is a sad misunderstanding that Mary herself would not support.
The hard working girl of the
Magnificat was clearly never interested in setting herself above or against
other people, and she obviously did not consider bodily existence demeaning or
contaminating. She lived the life she was given, with integrity and presence,
doing the ordinary work of running a household, raising a child, caring for and
enjoying family and neighbors. As a transparent vessel of the perfect love of
God, she functioned not apart from, but within, the rhythms and limits of
normal human existence.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed
God, they immediately experienced the consequences of their actions -
separation from the God Who loves them. God, in His mercy, promised them a
Redeemer Who would pay the price for their sin and the sins of the whole world.
We see the marvelous unfolding of God's plan of redemption in the events
leading up to the Incarnation and the birth of the Messiah. Mary's prompt
response of "yes" to the Divine message is the model of faith for
all.
Neither Jesus nor Mary
shuddered at the thought of being human, even though God knows it is a hard
task indeed. Life on earth is difficult in an infinite variety of ways. We are
weak, vulnerable and easily confused. We disappoint ourselves and are subject
to the betrayals, mistakes, and harmful actions of others. We suffer pain and
the deep spiritual consequences of our individual and collective sinfulness.
Life is very messy. Yet Jesus chose to enter into human existence fully, and He
did so through the body of a woman. In doing so, He affirmed the blessedness of
life and the goodness of the body, not just in general but in particular. Every
life, every body, has infinite value, belongs to God and is tenderly loved by
God.
Mary's Immaculate Conception
is simply an extension of the Incarnation. She was preserved in perfection by
and for the sake of her Son. And just as His Incarnation was for our sake, so
her purity is for us as well. She endures as a model of living and a loving
guide for us as we stumble through this existence, which often does indeed seem
to be a vale of tears. In darkness we long for light; in our wounding we yearn
for healing. And in ordinary, everyday choices we make, in our attempts to live
and love responsibly and wisely, she accompanies us. From her we can learn how to
keep taking the next necessary step, how to keep saying yes to the unique
requirements of life, how to live with integrity and coherence, and how to
reach for the only perfection that matters: the perfection of love!