Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

My dear Parishioners,

Peace! The third article of the Apostle’s Creed is “Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary” There are nineteen (19) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding this article of the Creed. The following is a reflection on article 508.

The mysteriousness of God’s choice is evident in His choice of Mary to be the Mother of God. Of all the women who ever have been and ever will be, it was only of Mary that Jesus was to be born. Just as no one forced God to create the heavens and the Earth, no one forced God to choose Mary to be the Mother of the Redeemer. Similarly, Mary responded freely to God’s choice in her regard in cooperating as the ‘handmaid of the Lord.’ (Luke 1:38, 48)

That Mary is known as Virgin (Luke 1:27) reminds us of the power of the Holy Spirit which overshadowed her, by Whom Christ was conceived (Matthew 1:20; Luke 2:21).

While the Catechism specifically mentions the Virgin Mary here as one of the ‘descendants of Eve’ we should not forget that Christ Jesus, according to His human nature (cf. Romans 9:4-5), and we ourselves are likewise ‘descendants of Eve.’ The Fathers of the Church (AD 90-700) frequently remind us of the relationship between Eve and Mary, the mother of all the living and the mother of all who live in Christ (cf. Genesis 3:20; John 19:27). Mary’s obedience untying the knot of Eve’s disobedience.

The Virgin Mary is the Mother of God because Jesus Christ is God, one in being with the Father and Holy Spirit. It was neither the Father nor the Spirit who was conceived and born of Mary, only the eternal Son who entered into time as Christ Jesus was conceived and born. There are three (3) days on the Church’s calendar which commemorate these things: 25 March – Annunciation (when Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit); 25 December – Nativity (when Christ was born in Bethlehem); 1 January – Mary, Mother of God..

While the title ‘Immaculate Conception’ is not used in this passage from the Catechism, substance is present: Mother Church recognizes in the words of the Archangel Gabriel: ‘Hail, full of grace’ the teaching of the Immaculate Conception. The Virgin Mary is ‘full of grace’ from the first moment of her existence, beginning with her conception, celebrated 8 December each year, and all her days. In that she was preserved from any and all stain of Original Sin and any personal sins by virtue of her cooperation with God’s grace, the Virgin Mary is said to be the ‘most excellent fruit of the Redemption wrought by her Son. May your tender devotion to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God sustain you all your days, now and at the hour of your death. Amen.

God bless you!

Father John Arthur Orr