Today's Gospel Reading - Saturday, December 8, 2012 with Reflection

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary

Today is a holy day of obligation in the Philippines as it is one of the patronal feasts of the Philippines. Yes, it does seem that we are celebrating a feast that ascribes to Mary an unfair advantage, but in her life, she still had to deal with temptation like the rest of us, perhaps even more so as the devil would have worked very hard to deflect her from her destiny to become the Mother of God.

1^ST READING - Genesis 3:9-15, 20

P S A L M - Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

R: Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.(R) 2 The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.(R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R)

2^ND READING - Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.

Luke 1:26-38

26 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

SABBATH

CHOOSE HOLINESS Would you rather punch or be punched? Would you rather rob or be robbed? Would you rather kill or be killed? Tough question, right? Studying Philosophy in the early years of my priestly studies, I remember being struck by Socrates’ response to the abovementioned questions. He proposed that it is better to suffer evil than to commit it. Meaning, one should choose to be punched than to punch, to be robbed than to rob, to be killed than to kill. I must admit, my instincts gravitate towards the first set of actions. Yet there is the Socratic principle: Better to suffer evil than to commit evil. What is Socrates’ reason behind this principle? When you do evil, you hurt yourself more than the other. The other is hurt physically. But you hurt yourself spiritually. Physical hurt is temporary. Spiritual hurt is longer lasting. And since your soul is immortal, the repercussions of your actions can be eternal. This is a pagan articulating a very Christian principle. To commit an evil act, a person has to act contrary to love; that is, contrary to his or her own fulfillment, as well as contrary to the fulfillment of another. This is why the Catechism teaches that “mortal sin destroys charity in the heart.” And when charity is lost in the soul, the consequences are eternal. Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. In a singular privilege, Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin through the preventive merits of Jesus Christ’s salvific act, as she was chosen beforehand to be the mother of the Son of God. In Mary, the Immaculate One, we are reminded of the incompatibility of sin with holiness. That sin hurts the person more spiritually than physically. And that it is preferable to suffer physical evil than to commit it thereby hurting one’s soul. Now we understand the saints. Now we understand the martyrs. Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTION: Would you rather suffer evil or commit it? Lord Jesus, help me to be steadfast to Your Word. O Mary Immaculate, intercede for us. Amen.

Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us.

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