Immaculate Mary

Our 'speed schooling' back fired on us yesterday and we had to have school on Saturday.  It was not too bad but the boys were glad when the school day finally came to an end.  There is just something about doing school on the weekend that brings a gloomy feeling to the day.  The worst part was that in the rush to get it all done (and the extended period it took us to finish!) we did not even start our Bible devotion until the evening!  Not the way we had hoped to be doing things AND maybe if we had done the Bible readings earlier in the day, we would have had a better school day.  Oh my...the hard lessons we learn!  However, we can also see the light at the end of the tunnel, as next week we will be taking quarter tests and then be able to enjoy our month off from school!

We did manage to do one important school project that was long overdue!  We rid our home of the giant pumpkin we bought back in the beginning of October.  Yeah..I know...pretty embarrassing   But it made a really good step stool for Brendan to help us at our puzzle counter!  And it really was only a problem this last week when we noticed the small leak on the floor.  So, we had the brilliant idea of making it a science experiment by setting it out in our wooded area near the house.  We will watch it decay on a daily basis...pictures of course will be kept to document the process.  So...fair warning if you get squeamish at the sight of such things...but it should not take long from what we saw of it today!  LOL!

The way I look at it, we can tie this into the Advent season.  Think of it as a closer look at how sin left unchecked rots away at our soul!

So, on to more Advent type thoughts!...I promised a better explanation of Mary's title of Immaculate Conception.  First, let me say that it might seem confusing to be able to go to Mass to celebrate this feast the night before, but basing the idea on the Jewish festival time frame, we follow the idea that the feast begins at sundown and ends at sundown.  Therefore, the feast begins the night before the feast day at sundown and ends at sundown of the day of the feast.

Normally, we would probably have not gone to Mass twice in one day, but considering the need to show unity with our parish church, we felt like we should celebrate with them.  It was a true blessing to have a nice meal with our church family...no regrets for the rush it caused us last night.  In the end we were able to settle into the moment and enjoy the feast!

The feast did continue for the family throughout today (in spite of our school day).  We spoke about the Annunciation as the angel came to Mary to ask her to be the Mother of God.  This is a confusing part to fully understanding this doctrine.  Why speak of the conception of Jesus (the actual feast day of which is March 25th) if we are supposed to be celebrating the conception of Mary?  However, it is in the greeting of the angel that we are given our first clue that Mary is not your ordinary maiden.

The angel Gabriel greets her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."  The angel is announcing the salvation promise to Mary because she has been prepared by God to be the first to receive this gift of salvation.  This timeless treasure, that God had promised from the time of the fall of man, is given to Mary so she can bear the Son of God in her womb.  Now this might seem like a HUGE leap of interpretation of this passage.  However, if we stop and think about why this is possible......we realize that God becoming man as a infant took place through the ability for Mary to be obedient and say "YES!" so we might be saved from the disobedience of Eve who said "NO!" to God.

For Mary to hold Jesus in her womb, she needed to be free of all sin as nothing unclean could be in the presence of the Lord...imagine having God Incarnate within your WOMB!  Surely, God would feel the same about this close proximity within and want a clean (FULL of GRACE!) place to reside on earth until His birth!

Throughout the history of Christianity, the theologians have discussed this doctrine.  In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared this an accepted dogma (incontrovertible doctrine) of the Church.  He declared on December 8th that Mary from "the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."  We in turn celebrate this feast in honor of this doctrine and to lay witness to the great gift of salvation presented to her as Mother of God....the joy of being the first recipient of this saving grace!  And in turn, we remember our hope of salvation in our own lives and into eternity through this same gift!

We were able to reflect on this gift as we continued our nativity scene devotions this afternoon.  Edward added soft straw to the hay as a reminder that we should perform little acts of mortification, such as bearing a burden without complaint.  Our prayer..."Dear Jesus, Who suffered so much for us, let us suffer for love of you. Amen"  Such a small offering to be one with Christ in his burden of salvation.

We could see this also in our first Jesse Tree ornaments, as we placed a lamb on the tree.  We read from Exodus 12:11 and heard how God preserved the Israelites from the angel of death by commanding that they slaughter a lamb and smear blood on the door post on the first Passover.  We are also reminded of the lamb being sacrificed for our own preservation.  In the effort to guide the Israelites, God presents the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai in Exodus 20:22-23.  This was represented on our second ornament with a stone tablet.

In Jesus of Nazareth, we read about Mary's Fiat as well...how this reaction was a moment that would change her life forever...when we look back at our moments in which we are changed we have a small glimmer of understanding of what it was like for Mary throughout her time as Mother of God on earth.  There was no looking back and choosing a different path...the angel departs with the words to her...Do not be afraid! and she is left to carry out the decision....to face Joseph...her parents...the world as the Mother of God and all the consequences of that decision.  Also to face the pain and suffering of watching her only son ridiculed...suffer and die.  We are also left to our decisions in life to face the consequences, and yet, God is with us when we do His will...just as God was with Mary.

We found all of these devotions reflecting on the Annunciation helpful, but we had a very hands-on opportunity tonight as well.  We are blessed with a community-wide presentation of life in Bethlehem.  The normal location for the rodeo in town was transformed into Old Town Bethlehem for the night!  We were able to walk through the streets and witness a wedding feast, shopping center with live fish, spices, music, sweets, grains and more...as well as farm animals, temple school, an inn to full to accept visitors and shepherds camped out on the outskirts of town...not to be outdone, the Roman soldiers marched through the streets gathering up those who had not paid their taxes or were just be annoying.  As we walked the streets we heard of the news that a special child had been born in a stable and three wise men were trying to find him.  There is so much more to take in and can only be truly understood if you are present.  We go each year around this time and are so blessed by the experience.

As you might be guessing, we did not get out to bless our beehives and it will just have to wait until tomorrow!  I am a little disappointed but learning to try to let it go.  I suppose if it does not happen tomorrow, it was not meant to be and we will try again next year.