Second Tuesday of Advent: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Growing up I always thought the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrated Jesus’ conception, not Mary’s. It wasn’t until I was going through confirmation classes that I understood that the day is to celebrate Mary being born without original sin, not becoming pregnant with Jesus.
In the readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we hear the story of how original sin came to be. About how the first mother, Eve, cursed all of humanity by eating the forbidden fruit. The Gospel reading recounts how Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she had been blessed, that she would soon be a mother to the son of God. It’s the second reading however, one that doesn’t tell a story, that sticks out to me. In Ephesians 1:11-12 it says, “In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.”
I don’t think you need to be perfect to be chosen by God. You don’t need to be baptized and have that sin washed away in order to have him with you. We were all created by God and all have the capacity to be loved by him. There’s no perfect or imperfect way to love him in return. It doesn’t matter what country you're from, what language you speak, your ethnicity, or who you love. It doesn’t even matter what religion you practice or if you practice any organized religion at all. If you go to church faithfully every Sunday or just talk to God in a quiet moment, he loves you the same.
I think that’s what I’ve come to love the most about my relationship with God, I’ve seen how loving he is. People tend to quote the Bible more often to promote bigotry than they do any true message. But, the Bible has so many passages that speak of not judging those around you and loving them anyway. I think that’s the true take away. It doesn’t matter if you were born spotless or if you’ve turned your back on God a million times but continue to return. He’ll always have a place for all of us, as long as we want it.
