Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
It is a truth that in the natural order, in the natural world, we observe that all things are dependent one upon the other,
each serving the other, so that in the created world there is truly nothing superfluous.
Words like chance and evolutions, to try to explain the mystery of the part of creation that we can see,
are more expressions of the ignorance of man rather than his intelligence.
Because they are really the attempts to explain the truths of creation by irreligious minds too preoccupied with worldly concerns,
and so they wind up criticizing the artificer of all things.
And if this is true in the natural order, then the same also holds and is true in the supernatural world.
All truths in this order support and unveil the others, the other mysteries,
so that they can be said to be truly one mystery,
just as the one creation, the one universe, is an analogous way for us to understand
that there is truly only one mystery in our faith.
And yet, there are many aspects of that mystery.
And so, today we honor one of the most extraordinary aspects of that mystery,
for we honor the greatest prerogative of the Mother of God,
that is, her Immaculate Conception.
And in order to defend the mystery of Christ, we must defend this prerogative of the Mother of God,
because without defending it, then the whole mystery of Christ is lost by mankind,
and indeed, that is what has transpired in our modern world.
For when the Protestant revolutionaries began their false doctrines,
they ultimately were assailing the Mother of God, and so, they would wind up denying,
and so, they would wind up denying, and so, they would wind up denying, and so, they would wind up denying,
and so, they would wind up denying, and so, they would wind up denying, the very divinity of Christ.
And so, in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
that singular prerogative given to her alone, in which she is preserved from all stain of sin,
both original and personal, from the first moment of her conception,
is essential in defending the mystery of Christ.
Indeed, we can say that the Immaculate Conception is the defense of the incarnation of the Internal Word,
Indeed, we can say that the Immaculate Conception is the defense of the incarnation of the Internal Word,
because the Eternal Word chose to become man not by half steps, as many will claim,
not by simply appearing to us as a man, or being simply a man conceived in a sinner,
who was overshadowed in a most extraordinary way by the power of God,
but He truly chose to become man, and if He truly chose to become man,
then it was fitting that He would become man in a pure and spotless virgin,
then it was fitting that He would become man in a pure and spotless virgin,
and so, in today's Gospel, we have held before us many of the prerogatives of the Virgin Mary.
and so, in today's Gospel, we have held before us many of the prerogatives of the Virgin Mary.
The angel clearly declares that she is a virgin.
He clearly declares her Immaculate Conception in saying that she is full of grace,
and that hops back to that first of today's reading,
in which we learn that after the fall of our first parents,
God had promised mankind a Savior who would come,
and He would come into a woman,
and that woman would be at complete enmity with Satan.
So it was that we have in the first Proto-Evangelium,
we have allusions to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
For it is clear from the Hebrew text that the word enmity means total enmity,
that Satan will never touch the flesh, the mind, or the heart of this woman,
she will be pure from the first moment of her conception,
not touched by any taint of sin,
and this is most important for us if we are to understand the mystery
of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
For Our Lady truly became the Mother of God on the night of the Annunciation,
and it is her highest office to be the Mother of God,
but it is not her greatest prerogative.
That is her Immaculate Conception,
and she is immaculately conceived because in the first order of creation
God first ordained the incarnation of Christ,
and so it is the Immaculate Conception that defends the absolute primacy of Christ,
that God ordained first and foremost in the order of creation
that the Son would become man,
and so it is that the pure and spotless Virgin defends this prerogative of Christ,
that He truly is,
as St. Paul tells us,
the firstborn of all creations,
and so she is the Virgin Guardian of the Divine Child,
and her glories were for the sake of Christ.
Her glories defend the honor of the Savior,
and so it is not simply a superfluous matter of our faith
to defend the Immaculate Conception.
Indeed, if we do not defend this highest prerogative of the Mother of God,
the whole order of our reclamation in Christ,
the whole order of the supernatural world,
tumbles and crumbles to the ground,
and the world becomes caught in its sin.
For without holding out the sinlessness of the Mother of God,
then we have no hope for salvation,
and so the world concludes,
and it rightfully concludes,
if Mary is not the Immaculate Conception,
to eat, drink, and be merry,
for tomorrow you die.
But we hold and we maintain,
because it is true,
and it has been revealed,
that she is the Immaculate Conception,
and so we have reason to take up the banner of our faith,
to go forward and to proclaim to the world
that Christ truly became man,
in order to suffer and die for our sins,
so that we truly may become sons of our Eternal Father again.
And so, it is not fitting,
nor was it fitting,
that the Son of God would become man
in a sinner,
for if He were to become man
in a sinner like us,
then the prerogatives of the Son of God
would not be defended,
and a defense must be strong
in order for it to be a defense,
and so Mary's Immaculate Conception
is the defense of Christ,
and so we must uphold it
each and every moment of our lives,
because by it we are strengthened
in our struggle against sin,
for insofar as we come to imitate
the Mother of God,
insofar as we become transubstantiated
into the Immaculate,
then we are true defenders
of the prerogatives of Christ
and the mystery of our salvation,
and so it is this doctrine
that must be most dear to the hearts
of all Catholics,
for without upholding it,
and without defending it,
most especially in our personal lives,
then we too,
will lose the mystery of Christ,
as the world has lost the mystery of Christ,
because it denied, ultimately,
the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
her singular and greatest prerogative
to be unique among all the creatures of God,
because she is preserved
from the stain of original sin,
and it is only in light
of the defense of the Immaculate Conception,
it is only in our pursuit
to become transubstantiated into her,
that we will truly begin
to enter into the mystery
of natural sciences,
for in order for us to really enter into them,
we must be humble,
and in order to be humble,
we must recognize this singular exception,
this greatest work of God
in the created order,
so that our sciences are imbued
by our supernatural faith,
and if we think
our technological advancements
show us to be a sophisticated society,
nation, and world,
then we fool ourselves,
for if science was driven
by love of the Mother of God,
it would have far exceeded
what it has already accomplished
by leaps and bounds,
simply because,
in the humility,
not in the pride of the modern world,
that is,
those who hold and defend
the prerogatives of the Mother of God,
God communicates to them
graces that affect
the whole aspect of our humanity,
so that all that we do,
all that we say,
all our arts,
and all our sciences,
speak of the profound mysteries of God,
those mysteries that He has incorporated
into His creation,
those mysteries that science
should be driven to discern,
and so,
if they first and foremost
were to love
the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God,
then God would unveil to them
more and more the mysteries of science,
so that science may be put
at the service of mankind,
not at its destruction,
because,
in defending the Immaculate Conception,
we defend a truth,
that God has given each
and every one of us a mind,
not primarily
in the pursuit of sciences,
but primarily
in the pursuit of imitation
of the Mother of God,
our minds first and foremost
are given to us to know,
love, and serve God,
which Mary did
in her Immaculate Conception
from the first moment
of that conception,
and so,
if we too seek
to strive to be imitated into her,
then all that we do
will be imbued
and incorporated
into the supernatural order,
it will not remain
nearly in the natural order,
but it will be elevated,
elevated by our love,
by the will of the Immaculate,
which is our defense of Christ,
and so,
let us this day
honor that great defense of Christ,
the Immaculate Conception
of the Mother of God,
and let us strive to see her
incorporated into the hearts
and into the lives
of every man, woman, and child living,
so that humanity
may again recognize its dignity,
because it recognizes
this honor and prerogative
of the Most Holy Mother of God,
that she truly is
our life,
our sweetness,
and our hope,
because she is the one exception
in the created order
to the law of sin
and the reign of Satan
over mankind.
She is the victory
of God over sin,
and so,
in her,
all things are truly complete.
In her,
the Church is complete.
She is not simply
the preeminent member
of the Church,
as our Protestant brethren
would declare.
She is the Church complete,
as St. Paul alludes to
when he tells us
that we will know
when God comes again
to judge the living and the dead.
He will do so
when he finds his Church
holy and immaculate,
that is,
when the members
of the mystical body
imitate in a most extraordinary way
the Immaculate Conception,
the one who completes
all that God has come
to reveal to us,
all that God has come
to teach us.
She is God's victory
over sin.
She is our defense
against Satan.
She is our life,
our sweetness,
and our hope.
My dear friends,
you for whom
the Lord wants
to bring show them
that you are
protected
and that they
can see your life.