This great feast of Our Lady speaks not only to the plan that God had for Mary of Nazareth, daughter of Joachim and Anne, but also to the whole of the human race. Once our first parents had chosen to disobey God and decide for themselves what was good and evil, the consequence was a rupture in relationship with God. This wound to human nature is glaringly evident to anyone who works as a counselor or spiritual director. Instead of becoming Nietzsche's idea of "superman" our first parents knew only fear, nakedness and shame in the presence of God: "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen 3: 10) This wound is not genetic but it was passed on to every human being subsequently and means we cannot please God or know God's love of our effort alone. In the baptismal rite for infants the prayer the priest says: "We pray or this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her)." We do not commit original sin but we need to be freed from it. I think we can also deduce that Our Lady was from the very moment of her existence free from original sin and a temple of God's glory. This is what we all became at our baptism and what we need to continue to aspire to be. Our Lady was not only immaculately conceived but throughout her life she cooperated perfectly with God's grace: at the Annunciation she consented to bear the Son of God, she was joined to her Son in his sacrifice on the Cross and was at the heart of the community when the Holy Spirit descended to manifest the Church at Pentecost. In this way she was the pioneer and exemplar for all disciples who not only belong to the society of the Church but need to be transformed in our hearts, through obedience and love, to be docile to the Holy Spirit.
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