Mysteries of Blessed Virgin Mary concerning Redemption(1)

-16th Sunday After the Pentecost (9/8/2024) -

The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8th of September every year. As you know, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of God who begot Jesus Christ into the world. This feast falls on Sunday this year, so we only commemorate this during today’s mass, but I’d like to talk about some important things about her in today’s sermon.

The topic would be ‘the position and role of Our Lady in God’s plan of redemption’ (to be continued in the sermon on the Sunday mass 2 weeks later).

There are 2 important mysteries in the work of salvation of mankind : the Incarnation & the Redemption (the Death on the Cross). 

Our Lady is also closely related to these, but let us begin with the mysteries of Her concerning the Incarnation.

1. Mysteries of Our Lady concerning Incarnation

1) Mother of God

God the Son came into the world in order to save the fallen mankind. God became man thereby He became passible (able to suffer), and this condition is prerequisite for accomplishing the work of salvation. However, in order for the world to receive God coming to itself, there had to be fitting preparation. The sinful mankind cannot have Him who is Holiness itself without any preparation.

Among the things to be prepared, the most important one was one woman: through whom God can become man and come into the world. This woman is Our Lady. In God’s eternal decree, She was chosen as the Mother of God.

This mystery of ‘Mother of God’ is the principal and the ost important one among all other mysteries related to her.

Let us consider first in what sense we call Her mother of God.

  A married woman remains as a wife before she bears a child, but from the moment she begets one, she becomes a mother. There comes to be a relation between a mother and a child. However, there is no one who says “Since I begot your body and physical part of you only, I’m only the mother of your body.” The relationship between a mother and a child is not limited to the physical features only, but it’s about the whole person of a child.

The same logic applies to Our Lady.The one whom she begot into the world was God the Son, Jesus Christ. As we know from our catechism, Our Lord Jesus Christ is man and God. Therefore, Our Lady is the mother of Jesus, mother of God. It is an error to say “She is mother of Jesus as man only, not as God.”

2) Immaculate Conception

(1) Perfect innocence from sin & its influence

Let us move on to the next mystery : Immaculate Conception.

The way She begot Him had to involve the Divine intervention since She begot a person who is God.If a woman were to beget God, she absolutely has to be free from any sin or even any influence of sin, because God is the Holiness itself who cannot have anything to do with sin. If God were born from a sinner mother, then the Devil could be in a position to say this: “Your mother who bore you (God) is a sinner, so she is on my hand (i.e. under my control).” What a blasphemous situation!

The Immaculate Conception is the mystery which is related to this point. Our Lady was conceived immaculately, without any sin, free from any influence of sin.

Since the sin of Adam, every man comes into the world with the Original Sin. However, Our Lady had this privilege of Immaculate conception due to Her predestination to be the Mother of God, in view of Her Son’s future merits. Catholic Church celebrates this mystery of Immcaulate Conception on December 8th. The patron of our Chapel is also the Immaculate Conception.

(2) Fullness of Grace

The state of being immaculate was not restricted to the moment of Her conception only. It was throughout Her whole life. Not only that, She was even ever full of grace of God, because She didn’t put any obstacles to the grace of God which God abundantly grants. She always united Her will to God’s will, ever living the life of complete obedience.”Hail, Mary, Full of Grace.” (the words of St. Gabriel at the Annunciation)

3) Perpetual Virginity

Our Lady was not only immaculate, not only full of grace, but also a ever-Virgin. She led the life of perpetual virginity throughout Her whole life, because She gave all of Hers to God out of Her great love towards God. Let us look at it in 3 time periods.

(1) Before conceiving Our Lord

Her vow of perpetual virginity is a commen teaching among the theologians. The Scripture also mentions about it: “How shall this happen since I do not know the man?” (Lk 1:34)

(2) During the conception

We need some more explanation about this point. The way by which She conceived Our Lord wasn’t a mere human way of conception. It was a conception without a seed of a man, but by the power of the Holy Ghost in Divine way.“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall over shadow thee.” (Lk 1:35)The Incarnation of Our Lord happened with keeping Her virginity perfectly.

     (3) After the conception

Our Lord was the only son of Mary. She didn’t beget any other child than Him.Besides, She was the spouse of the Holy Ghost since this conception happened by the power of Him. Therefore it is fitting that She led Her life of perpetual virginity.There are some parts in the Scriptures which mention “brothers of Jesus” and some people argue that Our Lady had other children which She begot, but it is not true. According to Jewish custom, they call even cousins and relatives “brother” without using a different word to distinguish them. Therefore, the above argument comes from not considering this custom of Jews.

- Therefore Our Lady was truly and perfectly the Virgin who was ever virgin throughout Her whole life. 

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My dear faithful, today we talked about the position and role of Our Lady in the plan of Redemption (regarding the mystery of Incarnation).

Among all the mysteries which are related to Her, the most fundamental one is ‘The Mother of God’. She was chosen to be so from eternity in order to bring Our Lord into the world.

Because of this decree of Mother of God, She was conceived free from all sin : the mystery of Immaculate Conception.

Besides, She led Her whole life, always full of grace of God: She was the fullness of grace itself.

Furthermore, She led her life of perpetual virginity as the only Mother of God the Son & the Spouse of the Holy Ghost.

There are many titles of Our Lady in the litany of Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us address those titles to Her with full meaning, from our love and gratitude towards Her, based on our understanding of the mysteries which we talked in the sermon today.

Let us also practice these mysteries (of Divine Maternity, Immculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity) in our daily life.

- Divine Maternity : Our Lady had the mission to bring down God the Son into the world as His mother. We also have our mission to let the will of God come down into the world and let it be accomplished which will be done through our complete obedience to Him.

- Immcaulate Conception : Let us keep our will most pure, free from sinful pleasure and disordered inclination, offering our will to God with the sole aim of accomplishing His will.

- Perpetual Virginity : through this constant offering of our will united to His will, let us lead our life as a worthy child of Ever Virgin Mary.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to Thy word.” (Lk 1:38)

 Fr.  Longinus  Kim