The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Mass

Intermountain Catholic

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Father Joseph Mayo celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8, in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. He said Mary was immaculately conceived and predestined to bring forth Jesus, our redeemer. IC photos by Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — "Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a faithful servant of the Lord," said Father Joseph Mayo, pastor of the Cathedral of the Madeleine at the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mass Dec. 8, at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

"So we, who follow her example, are called to open our hearts to the spirit and the word of the Lord," said Fr. Mayo.

"The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception we celebrate today is one of the most poetic feasts of the whole liturgical year," said Fr. Mayo. "To understand the meaning of this solemnity we need to approach it in three steps.

Fr. Mayo said we begin with the contrast between the person of Adam and the person of Christ.

Adam symbolizes humanity alienated from God that turned in on itself; humanity with a disordered and distorted existence.

"The world of Adam is an enslaved dead-end, dehumanizing world," said Fr. Mayo. "It is a world of alienation, cruelty, suspicion, inhumanity, war, and exploitation.

"The world of Christ stands in radical contrast to the world of Adam," said Fr. Mayo. "Significantly Saint Paul refers to Christ as the new Adam. The early Christians refer to Christ as the second Adam. Christ is the beginning of a whole way of human existence characterized by freedom, blessedness, hope, and charity. The way of Christ is characterized by harmony, love, and communion between persons. This world of Christ is full of God’s prayer and blessing.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception begins by holding for us the contrasting world of Adam and of Christ. Two patterns of existence that will struggle until the very end of time when Christ will return in glory.

Fr. Mayo said the second step is the contrast between the person of Eve and the person of Mary. Eve is the one who opens the way for Adam’s act of disobedience. It was she who gave Adam the forbidden fruit, who made his sin possible, and who invited sin into the world. Eve is the servant and handmaid of evil.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, stands in stark contrast to Eve. Mary prepares the way for Christ and the coming of his grace into the world. Mary invited divine goodness into the human world. Mary is the servant of communion between God and humankind.

Eve prepares the way for a whole history of human alienation, pain, and misery. Eve receives God’s curse.

Mary opens the way for Christ’s redemption and for a whole history of reconciliation, grace, and joy. Mary is called blessed.

The Immaculate Conception celebrates the great role of Mary in history as the servant of goodness. Mary was immaculately conceived and predestined to be the mother of our redeemer.

The third step is we are called to be servants of Christ not servants of Adam, to act like Mary, not like Eve. Mary is the sign of the Church’s vocation. She was to bring forth Jesus, the innocent lamb who takes away our sins. We are to be immaculate disciples of Christ.