Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception-December 9, 2024

The book of Judges tells us about Gideon. It was in the decades after the entry into the Promised Land and before the time of the kings. Nomadic peoples came and stole Israel's crops and livestock. God chose Gideon to confront Midian, one of these exploitative peoples.

Gideon was unsure that God would save Israel from Midian through him. And he asked God for a sign (Judges 6:25-40). Gideon put a woolen fleece on the threshing floor and told God that if the woolen fleece was moist with dew the next morning, then he will understand that God will save Israel from Midian through him.

Sure enough, the next day the wooden fleece was moist, while all the ground was dry. It was so wet, that Gideon squeezed out and entire bowl of water from it. However, Gideon was still not entirely sure and asked God for one more sign of confirmation. Gideon said to God that if the opposite would happen the next morning, that the woolen fleece would remain dry while the entire ground would be moist with dew, then he would know that God would bring him success against Midian. And so it happened.

The Fathers and writers of the Church compare the Virgin Mary to the fleece of Gideon which remained dry while the ground all around it became moist with dew. The fleece of Gideon was an image that foreshadowed the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All human beings, in the first instance of our conception, received the stain of original sin while the Virgin Mary did not. We are all moist with dew (sin) while the Virgin Mary remined dry (sinless).

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception states: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin”.

I would like to reflect on the fact that the solemnity of the pure and sinless conception of the Virgin Mary is celebrated in the liturgical season of Advent. It makes sense to hold this feast at this time in the year of grace because the Immaculate Conception is a fundamental preparation for the coming of the Lord into the world.

If the Virgin Mary had not been exempted from original sin, she would not have been a suitable Mother for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For the Son of God to become incarnate, He had to have a mother who was sinless. The immaculate conception of this special woman was a fundamental and necessary preparation for the coming of the Son of God into the world.

The Immaculate Conception is also the Church’s sign of sure hope. Since one of the characteristics of Advent is that it is a time of hope, it makes sense to hold this feast at this time in the year of grace.

The Church has the joyful hope that the salvation already achieved by the Lord and the reality of grace in the world will mature and reach its fullness. This assurance fills the Church with hope because what has been promised to her through faith will be granted. We hope that we may be cleansed from every stain of sin and be admitted to God’s presence. The Immaculate Conception is the beginning and the image of the Church reaching its perfection.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, assumed into heaven, to intercede for us and to guard us against every sin, above all against every mortal sin, lest we lose the sanctifying grace of God.