Christ the Cornerstone

This Advent, look to Mary Immaculate to see the light of God’s glory

“Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the miter that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the Earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship” (Bar 5:1-4).

This year, because the Second Sunday of Advent falls on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is transferred to Monday,

Dec. 9. We are blessed to celebrate these two beautiful liturgies in close proximity because what we joyfully await during the Advent season is revealed in Mary Immaculate.

The first reading for the Second Sunday of Advent from the prophet Baruch contains a vision of the new Jerusalem aglow with the splendor and glory of God. “The forests and every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God’s command,” the prophet proclaims, “for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company” (Bar 5:9). The splendor of God’s glory is found in the coming together of justice and mercy, which is what Advent anticipates with joyful hope.

This Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled by God through the grace given to Mary Immaculate. Her “yes” to God’s invitation to become the mother of our Savior made it possible for the glory of God to shine in our world’s darkness. Mary is the splendor of Jerusalem “wrapped in the cloak of justice from God” (Bar 5:2). She symbolizes the patient expectation that characterizes this holy season, and her fidelity to God’s word prepares the way for Christ’s coming again.

The readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception support this Advent expectation. As St. Paul writes to the Ephesians, and all of us:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him” (Eph 1:3-4).

God chose all of us “before the foundation of the world” to be without sin. He wanted us to be holy—as God is holy—and to be free from the corruption of sin and death.

Our first parents rejected God’s invitation and, as a result, we inherited their original sin. Only the sacrificial gift of God’s only Son could redeem us from this curse. We are free from the devastating consequences of original sin because God loves us so much that he could not bear to see us condemned to a future without hope.

The Immaculate Conception is a profound sign of God’s love for his children. In anticipation of her divine Son’s passion, death and resurrection, Mary was conceived without sin. She was chosen to be the sign of our future glory as daughters and sons of our heavenly Father.

When the angel visited Mary in Nazareth and greeted her as one “full of grace,” God’s messenger acknowledged that “the Lord is with you.” Not only would Mary carry the infant child in her womb, but she was “blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing” and radiant with God’s splendor. The incarnation was both a physical reality and a spiritual transformation that allowed Mary to foreshadow the change that will happen to everyone who is raised from the dead on the last day.

The glory of God that is our Advent hope can be seen in the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is what we hope to become by the power of God’s grace. She is patient, humble, pure and wholly obedient to God’s will. She ponders in her heart the mysteries of life, sacrifice and unconditional love. She serves others without counting the cost to herself. And above all, she follows in the footsteps of her beloved Son.

This Advent season, let us look to Mary Immaculate to see the light of God’s glory and to discover the truth about our vocation as daughters and sons of the same Father in heaven. Let us pray:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known 
that anyone who fled to thy protection, 
implored thy help, 
or sought thy intercession, 
was left unaided. 
Inspired by this confidence 
I fly unto thee, 
O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. 
To thee do I come, 
before thee I stand, 
sinful and sorrowful. 
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, 
but in thy mercy hear and answer me. 
Amen.

May this holy season bring us closer to Mary and, through her, to her beloved Son, Jesus. †