December 8, 2004,
Marytown, Libertyville, IL
Homily given by Rev. Fr Anthony Labedis, OFM Conv,
the Provincial of St. Bonaventure Province of Conventual Franciscans
Happy Feast of our Mother,
Mary, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit - the Theotokus - the God
bearer- the Mother of God - the Mother of the Church, the Mother
of the people of God, the Mother of the sons and daughters of
God, the Mother of Christians- your Mother - my Mother - our
Mother. The Immaculate Conception - the New Eve - whose Gospel
"yes" transforms and invites us to immaculate, holy
possibilities - calling us beyond sin, beyond time to new dimensions
of Faith, Hope and Love. How blessed we are to come together
and celebrate our origins, our birth, our recreation, our salvation.
When Pope John Paul II visited Lourdes for the first time, he quoted the French author Bernanos saying that the Blessed Virgin Mary is "Younger than sin." As the Immaculate Conception, preserved from the wound of original sin, Mary belongs to the "youngest" period of human history, before the fall introduced into us the poison of decay, and death. She is the one "full of grace" who "has found favor with God." Her total availability to God's will is our opening to the Incarnation, the mystery which Advent is preparing us to celebrate. Advent's call to change is a call to a new beginning. This new beginning recaptures for us the beauty of that "original" beginning made present in our history in the person of Mary as an anticipation of Christ's redemptive power to make all things new. The Immaculate Conception of Mary is the proof that the ultimate word about human life is not a word of condemnation and defeat, but an affirmation of goodness and beauty. In the midst of the strife and turmoil of our time, we are prone to wonder and perhaps even doubt that.
After 9/11, we all understand the meaning of terror. As we pursue a war on terror, it is important that we remember that the human race has been terrorized from the beginning of time. The Edenic peace and harmony of Paradise became the chaos of rebellion as Satan "insinuated" himself into our nature - in the belief that he could destroy the Divine blueprint for human life. But not so, the Creator answered the challenge with unbelievable justice, tempered with mercy and love - with awesome Divine imagination he would counter Satan. The "insinuation" of Satan would be confronted with the "Incarnation" of His Son. God would not be tested - His creation would not be frustrated. God would enter the human scene. A new Adam (Christ) and a new Eve (Mary) would - with obediental reverence - say the "yes" that would confirm the original divine intent. Grace would eradicate sin, suffering would become the passion, and death would lead to resurrection and eternal life. Even after the fall, God continued to imagine a world without sin, human beings without sin, you, me - without sin. Can we not on this feast imagine with God? Perhaps in the imagining we might accept the challenges of the Kingdom of God and being again to say the personal yeses that would make the Kingdom a reality for us and for the world.
Perhaps our problem is that we continue to think of ourselves only as some body draped over a soul. And so, our bodies receive the priority, the time, the attention with little if any concern for the soul. We spend the days of our lives palliating our senses and satisfying our passions. We paint ourselves, we perfume ourselves, we pamper ourselves, indulge ourselves, kill ourselves wih dalliances and entertainments, dress to the nines or undress to zero, abhor solitude, stab silence with agonized screams and call it music, scar and mar ourserlves until we become walking graffiti and pin cushions, and we call this living. We vie with each other in creating weird and interesting hells for ourselves, our families, our friends and our enemies to live in.
Maybe if we would reverse the priority and begin to think of ourselves as souls enlivening a body and spend at least equal amounts of time with soul concerns we could transform ourselves and the world. Maybe we would recognize that a kind smile is the best cosmetic, that a patient word is a healing salve, that a ready ear is a sourse of comfort, a silent tongue can be a peace initiative, a clear conscience is a healthy remedy and an open heart is an oasis of hope. Maybe some of our hells would turn into Edens and we would begin to embrace the word "immaculate" as a personal adjective instead of just a bizarre delusion or impossible dream.
On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception then, let us each affirm the wonder and goodness of our own life in Christ. Let us recall that primal moment of innocence when we, too, for a fleeting instant, were without sin - the day of our Baptism when we were "Christened" - when our name was linked with the Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - that wonderful moment when we danced with God. Let us remember, too, those astonishingcelebrations of integral confessions - accompanied by sincere sorrow and contrition that "re-Christened" us. With mary, let us magnify the Lord and worthily enter into the passionate reception of Holy Communion - abandoning ourselves to the Will of our Father, the Fire of the Spirit and the Incarnational Presence of the Son. May personal prayer, meditation and contemplation preclude and deter temptation. May penance refresh the terror of our pride, hatred and vice. With St. Maximilian Kolbe, our beloved confrere, may we embrace our Mother - the new Eve with the new name "Immaculata" and renew our consecration to her.
"Immaculata, Queen and Mother of the Church, I renew my consecration to you for this day and for always so that you might use me for the coming of the Kingdom of Jesus in the whole world. To this end I offer you all of my prayers, actions and sacrifices of this day."
"O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you and for those who do not have recourse to you especially for the enemies of holy Church and for all those recommended to you." Amen.
Loving Father, through the intercession
of Mary Immaculate save me and my country from the temptation
to deny the goodness of life.
(c) Copyright 1998-2004 The Militia
of the Immaculata. All rights reserved.
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