We know that, in preparing her for her unique and essential role as the Mother of Christ, God preserved the Virgin Mary from Original Sin from the very first moment of her existence, and she maintained that innocence her entire life.  

Mary is the new Garden of Eden, a virginal paradise where Jesus, as the new Adam, entered the world to accomplish His saving mission.  

Mary throughout history

In the immediate aftershocks of Adam and Eve’s Original Sin, God utters a mysterious and hopeful prophecy to the serpent that there will arise a woman whose son will crush his head. 

The early Church Fathers called this the proto-evangelium or the pre-Gospel. The Father already laid out His plan of salvation at the beginning, a design not possible without the Blessed Virgin Mary.  

This celebration of the Immaculate Conception shows us both the meaning and purpose of the Incarnation as God’s rescue mission, to save the human race from the ravages of sin and death, and to restore us to being beloved sons and daughters of God. 

In Mary, and accompanied by her, we see Heaven and union with Jesus as our final goal.

In 1531, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Juan Diego in Mexico, arrayed in the glory of an Aztec princess, announcing the love of God in Jesus Christ for the indigenous peoples of the Americas.  

Recently conquered by the Spaniards, suffering ravaging disease and the dismemberment of their culture, these native peoples had not readily taken to the new religion of Catholicism.  

The appearance of Mary at Guadalupe, preserved in miraculous radiance on Juan Diego’s tilma, sparked the conversion of the Americas.  

Mary showed the native peoples that God loved them and that she had a particular tenderness for their welfare and salvation.

Reflecting on the Joyful Mysteries

This Advent, we have focused on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, with their explication of the wondrous events surrounding the birth of Christ.  

In the midst of the joyous theme of these Scriptural moments, there exists the sobering theme of suffering and the Cross.  

In the Annunciation, Mary is puzzled, wondering how she could conceive a child as a virgin. 

Both she and Joseph must face the personal and social consequences of this miraculous and mysterious pregnancy. 

In the Visitation, we are struck by the fact that both of these children, who bring such joy to their mothers and to the world, will suffer bloody and terrible deaths. 

In the Nativity, we watch Joseph and Mary turned away from the inn.  In the busy function of the world, there is no room for the Son of God to be born in even a modicum of comfort.  

In the Presentation, Simeon prophesies Mary’s painful participation in the rejection and suffering of her Son. A sword will pierce her heart. Immediately after the Presentation, Herod will seek to destroy the Christ Child, and the Holy Family will flee to Egypt.  

In the Finding of the Lord in the Temple, Mary endures the anguish of losing Jesus for three days, a rehearsal in a sense of what she will endure when she loses Him for three days in His Passion and death. 

Mentioning these sorrowful dimensions of the Joyful Mysteries does not dampen the love and peace we celebrate in the Advent of Christ, but it does help us link Jesus’ birth to His mission of salvation and forgiveness, which will be won for us through His Cross and Resurrection.  

Already at the beginning of the Lord’s life, we see a foreshadowing of His suffering and death. 

Mary played an integral role in all of that, trusting in the Lord’s promise and presence, patiently waiting for years, as God’s plan unfolded in her life, surrendering Jesus to His public mission, and standing at the foot of the Cross on that dark Good Friday afternoon.  

Turn to Mary

We turn to Mary as our mother, knowing that she loves, protects, and intercedes for us, as we live our discipleship and make our way to the Father’s house.  

In these beautiful Advent days, we ask her to pray for us, that we too may bear Christ to the world through lives of holiness and faith.  

As the Immaculate Conception, Mary is the Patroness of the United States. 

As Our Lady of Guadalupe, she is the Patroness of the Americas and the cause of life. 

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.