DAILY DEVOTIONAL: 8 DECEMBER 2016

8 December 2016

Genesis 3:9-15, 20; Psalm 98:1-4; Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38

REFLECTION - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
 
Italian Renaissance artist Fra Angelico painted several stunning works depicting today’s gospel story, the Annunciation. I will never forget standing in front of his Annunciation painting in the Museo Diocesano in Cortona, Italy, beholding the golden light shining upon Mary and the Angel Gabriel at this breathless moment of encounter. Yet Fra Angelico did not limit his scene to today’s gospel story; in the top left corner of the painting, in dark shadows, he reminds us that this moment of Mary’s fiat cannot be understood without remembering the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. So too, our first reading today links the tragic choice of Adam and Eve with the hopeful willingness of Mary to participate in God’s plan of salvation. She will be the mother of his Mercy Incarnate.

Each evening, after bedtime stories and prayers, I hum the melody of the Salve Regina to my son. “Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy...to thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.” In these early days of motherhood, I cling to her model, rely on her intercession and trust that she wants nothing for herself but to lead us closer to her son.

One year ago, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of Mercy. And while that Jubilee Year came to an end in mid-November, we still have cause to ask our Mother of Mercy for her prayers. “Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

Lindsay Kelleher is Chaplain-in-Residence for Alumni Square and the Townhouses.

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