Catholic Family Fun | Lectio Divina | Immaculate Conception
Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., explains how Jesus took on our human nature, coming to us through the immaculately conceived Blessed Virgin Mary to show us the way to a loving friendship with God.
In the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis, we hear about the creation of the world and all things in it. The creation story is not a documentary that yields accurate historical or scientific data. It is a spiritual lesson in story form, telling us as much about God as it does about creation. *Please note that there are two stories of creation.
The first shows God’s work in the first seven days, while the second is more about our first parents and their relationship with God. Adam and Eve enjoy a privileged, radiant, intimate relationship of harmony with God until the devil slithers into the picture in the disguise of a serpent.
The devil was jealous of our first parents and their closeness to God, so he talked them into rebelling against God. Thus, it is at that time, as Saint Paul said, "sin entered the world" (Romans 5:12). Sin has become part of our DNA, what we refer to as 'Original Sin.' It's not something external that's attached to us; instead, it's more like an absence, a feeling that something crucial is missing.
Original Grace and Friendship
That missing something is the original grace and friendship God blessed us with at the time of creation. This original sin is a tendency in all of us to pride, selfishness, and self-centeredness. It leads us to rebel against God as our first parents did. We see signs of it everywhere. If we read the whole passage in Genesis, we see that sin affected not only our first parents' relationship with God but also it affected their relationship with each other.
They lost the joy they had in the Garden of Eden and had to struggle with the rest of creation just to survive. Our first reading does not go into that. The part of the story that we hear in our first reading has the purpose of pointing out that, although we sin, God does not want us to remain in a state of alienation or social distance from Him. Instead, God has a rescue mission.
Good News!
This is Good News for all of us! God confronts the serpent, the devil, the evil one, and says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers" (Genesis 3). In other words, we will struggle with evil for our entire lives.
In a poetic way, God announces that evil will not win in the struggle. He told the serpent: you might strike at his heel (i.e., you might be able to do some harm to the offspring of the woman), but he will strike at your head (which would imply a fatal blow). The powers of evil will not triumph—even though they often seem to when we look at the world.
Sin is a powerful force that humanity cannot conquer on its own. And so, God sent his Only Begotten Son, Jesus, to rescue us.
God’s Son took on our human nature to show us the way back to a loving and harmonious friendship with God. He came to us through a woman whose goodness and holiness are not tainted by the sin that weakens the rest of us. She is full of grace from the very first moment of her existence.
Mother of God
God did not think it fitting for the mother of His Son to be touched by sin, for she would give birth to the One who would destroy sin and death in us by His own death and resurrection. When Mary was asked if she would be the mother of our Savior and Lord, she answered: "May it be done to me according to your word." Her answer is how she lived her whole life, always ready to say "yes" to whatever God asks of her and graciously following His will.
And so, Jesus comes to us, He is born, He teaches, He heals, He forgives sins, He casts out demons, and He dies for us. Before ascending to the Father, He promises to be with us all of our days through the Sacraments.
As we honor the Immaculate Virgin Mary, we pray she may inspire us and help us to stay close to God and in his grace by always saying "yes" to God, just like Mary.
Questions for Reflection:
How can you say ‘Yes’ to God in your life just like Mary did?
How is Mary a model of faith in addition to her initial yes? What can we do to follow her example?
Reflect on your friendship with God. How can you more actively choose a relationship with Him, as Mary did?
Read the first three chapters of Genesis. What lessons does each account offer us? What benefit can there be to two accounts of the Creation story?