In every Catholic Church throughout the world, you will find in a suitable place, a common element- some sort of sacred structure that we call a tabernacle- a place that we keep the Eucharist- Christ’s very Body- so that at any time, anyone who needs His presence can come into this very structure and encounter the living and very present God. This isn’t just an ordinary box- the gold plating likely introduced you to that fact, but it is a place that is never used for anything else- and is used for nothing less than holding Christ Himself within it. It is set aside for a sacred purpose. If you delve deeper into this, there are a lot of things that are set aside for a sacred purpose as well. The chalice. The patens. The ciboria. Even this church itself- it is set aside for only one purpose: to serve God, and God alone.
Yet, as much as we focus upon all of these things, today we are coming together to celebrate something that is altogether different- a simple and humble handmaid- the Blessed Virgin Mary. We may not think it very much, but in fact, she serves a very simple purpose- to house God within herself as well. It actually is something more of a beautiful mystery than we would think, and we celebrate this very fact tonight, that from the first moment of her existence, she was preserved from original sin.
To help illustrate this, we begin with one of the first stories that likely many of us remember from the book of Genesis. It is a very familiar account, because it is moments after one of the darkest moments in the Bible. We all know the story- Adam and Eve were there in the garden, and they had everything made, and yet, they sought after one thing they could not have- the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This short passage tells what happens- and we see God is very upset about this sudden turn of events…
…and yet, there is something that is in the works in the background…
When God is speaking to the serpent, he promises that he will eat dirt all of the days of his life, he will crawl, and there will be enmity between him and the woman- her offspring will strike at his head while you strike at his heel… do you notice what has happened? Though they did not realize it at the time, there, moments after the first failure, God promises renewal and rebirth- through a woman and her son. That woman? The Blessed Virgin Mary. The Son: Jesus Christ. It is a powerful moment- because hope is reborn once again, and God already has a plan set in motion to redeem humanity!
The letter to the Ephesians, too, is a very powerful message in itself- speaking and reminding the Ephesians of their special place in human history. They have been given every spiritual blessing under the heavens, and we have been blessed in Christ. Notice this line here- he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. He destined us for adoption. He continually uses this word: chosen. We know this word very well, but it becomes far more important when we understand it in relation to the Blessed Virgin Mary herself.
Finally, we hear from the Gospel of Luke. The scene is set in a town of Galilee, called Nazareth, and an angel appears to a virgin- betrothed to a man named Joseph- the virgin was named Mary. The angel greets her: “Hail full of grace; the Lord is with you!” Then, following in the footsteps of that beautiful message, we are given a further blessing that she is allowed to partake in- her womb will be the very dwelling place of God for a short while as He develops in that human form that we are all so familiar with. Notice a curious detail- and it is one we might easily forget about: the fact that Gabriel calls Mary “full of grace.” She has not yet conceived Jesus, and yet, she is full of grace. How can that be?
The beauty of this solemnity is that it doesn’t give us a fact that might seem arbitrary- but it shows the beauty of God’s handiwork, and how He carefully plans out all of creation. He isn’t simply dwelling in the clouds somewhere, leaving us to whatever fate comes our way, but he is actually very much with us and travelling our earthy journey with us. Look at the book of Genesis- in the first fall, we would expect God to be very, very upset and angered with us. While he was, for at least a time, he still was working with us- and loved us through it. Even at that moment he was promising to send a woman and her offspring- which we now know to be Mary and Jesus.
Further, if you review the letter to the Ephesians, there is a reminder of the fact that God still choses us. In a deliberate way, we see that working out through the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was chosen from all of creation to carry the Christ child. She is very much like our tabernacle here- she was set aside for a sacred purpose- and she was given such care that even original sin itself would not touch her. Jesus’s coming preserved her from experiencing the effects of our fallen human nature- she was delivered from sin, but it was in anticipation of Christ coming!
Then, even in Luke, we see angels paying respect to Mary: she is that sacred place set apart for the Christ child and she is that dwelling place and served as mother. She does not merit this honor herself, but God freely bestows it upon her. God is so generous with His people, and Mary bears witness to it.
As we celebrate this solemnity, we should be drawn to the fact that God has a plan for creation. He has willed it from the beginning, and has loved it in all time. Yet, it wasn’t enough. Whenever that humanity fell and was wounded, like a good father, God seeks out that wounded creation and immediately plans something great. Then the Blessed Virgin Mary is put in place, to give that conveyance of God to the world- that sacred place that was preserved by God’s plan from the contagion of sin! We are grateful, not simply to Mary, but also to God in giving her such an exalted place- even from the first moment of her conception. God saw what he was going to do with her life, and then made it happen effectively through her.
However, that isn’t where things end. We know God has a plan for all of creation- we know He has a plan to save all of creation through Mary, but, doesn’t He also have a place for us, and a plan for us. As much as God plans out Mary and what He wishes to do for her, even from the first moments of her existence, God also plans out this very same mystery for each of us. Even before we were born, we also were planned out in the fullness of time- we may still suffer many effects of sin that Mary did not, and yet, God never leaves our side.
That, perhaps, is a good challenge for all of us. We set aside sacred places and things. God sets apart sacred people, destined to fulfill His will. Let us also set ourselves apart from others- as we become dwelling places for God to remain- to dwell within, and to remain in forever. Let’s become like this tabernacle, and like Mary herself- so that, we too, may be those who are a sacred and holy place for God to dwell and to remain within. Like this tabernacle, and like the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we hold our hearts and our souls in sacred purity, so that we may experience His tremendous love He has for us, in dwelling in creation, in Mary, and in our very souls as well.
