Dec. 8, 2014: Immaculate Conception

Click to hear Audio Homily
Do you know of a friend who is blessed with many gifts that you don’t have? What are some of the gifts that they have that you wished you had? … e.g. photographic memory, ability to sing, ability to dance. Do you ever say to yourself, “I can't think of anything I'm particularly good at - nothing interesting, anyway. And the things I AM good at I can think of millions of people who are better than me.” What should I do?

Today we celebrate Blessed Mother receiving a gift that no human person has received. By the sheer grace of God, she was conceived without the Original Sin. In other words, she received a sinless heart. For us, it’s hard to fathom what a sinless heart looks like. And, we may say to ourselves, ‘Well, it’s great that Blessed Mother received such a beautiful gift. But I don’t have that gift.”

Let’s look at what a sinless heart looks like. A great description of such heart is provided by St. Paul in 1 Corinthian 13.

Love [Mary’s heart] is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Is it really impossible for us to be patient, kind, gentle? We know that at times we are impatient, unkind, and rough. We also know, though, that we can make a conscious choice each moment to love rather than take the path of the Original Sin.

This is why Heavenly Father has given us our Heavenly Mother, to teach us that all of us are given the same Holy Spirit who allows us to choose love rather than selfishness. We were given the Holy Spirit at baptism and even more profound way at Confirmation.

Each of us has been chosen by the Father and given every spiritual blessing, just as Blessed Mother was given. Heavenly Father loves us, protects us, and provides for us, just as He did for Blessed Mother. And Heavenly Father invites us to make Our Lord known to the world through our very own lives, just as He invited Blessed Mother to  make His Son known to the world through her. We may feel unworthy, we may struggle because many do not want Her Son known. We only need to remember that we have been given every spiritual blessing. All of heaven is with us to help us.

Blessed Mother is always at our side assisting us. Although we cannot see her with our physical eyes at this present moment, we hope that we will see her full beauty one day in Heaven. There is a beautiful French hymn which talks about such longing called, “I’ll see her one day.” The lyric of the hymn goes like this in English:

I'll see her one day, In Heaven in the homeland, Yes I will see Mary, My joy and my love
Refrain: In Heaven, in Heaven, in Heaven, I'll see her one day
I'll see her one day, I'll join the angels, To sing her praises, And form her court
I'll see her one day, This so beautiful Virgin, Soon I'll be near her, To say my love
I'll see her one day, I'll go near her tomb, To welcome the dove, For the eternal stay
I'll see her one day, I'll go away from earth, To the heart of my mother, To rest with no return
Refrain: In Heaven, in Heaven, in Heaven, I'll see her one day

J'irai la voir un jour
Au ciel dans la patrie
Oui j'irai voir Marie
Ma joie et mon amour

Au ciel, au ciel, au ciel
J'irai la voir un jour

J'irai la voir un jour
J'irai loin de la terre
Sur le coeur de ma mère
Me poser sans retour