Today we rejoice in the knowledge that the most Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved free from all stain of original and personal sin, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, from the first moment of her conception.  Mary enjoys the splendor of a unique holiness, because of the merits of Jesus Christ, who was her Savior and the Savior of all the human race.  Almighty God wished to apply the fruits of Christ’s redemption to the Mother of God in advance, so that a worthy and suitable temple might be prepared for the Eternal Word, for the child Christ who would be with her in that most holy ark of the New Covenant, for nine blessed months.  This is a beautiful truth which has been proclaimed from the earliest days of the Church, that Mary is "full of grace."   By the grace of God, Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.  A human being, like us, living the fullness of humanity, complete with joys, fears, deep sorrows, but no sin.  And so she is the perfect example for us of holiness and of true joy rooted in love and intimacy with God. 

It’s important to remember that as much as God did for her, as deeply and completely as he loves her, he loves each one of us with just as generous and complete a love.  It’s a tenet of our Faith that God gives whatever grace is necessary for whatever is being asked.  This is why the Blessed Virgin Mary got the most, because the most was being asked of her.  She was being asked by God to be the lynchpin of all human history; she was asked and invited to be Mother of God and a living Ark of the New Covenant.  That’s a “big ask” and God gave her all the grace she needed to say yes and to accomplish the task being set forth for her.  But he does the same for us.  None of us will have an “ask” that big.  But God does propose significant and, at times, very challenging requests and expectations for us.  This Feast is a reminder that we are never set up for failure, and that God never asks the impossible.  In fact, he sets us up, in advance, for success, with whatever graces we might need.  We see this in the life of our Lady: he didn’t ask her to be Mother of God and Ark of the Covenant, and then realize he needed to give her a bunch of grace.  He had already set up all the necessary helps and graces in advance, as part of his perfect plan of love and salvation, so that she was ready to give a confident, hopeful, and free yes to God’s incredible request.  His grace will go before us as well.  Anything he asks us to do, anything he asks us to suffer or to bear, anything he asks us to accomplish, small or great, his grace will have gone before us to prepare us and make us ready. 

Our job is to stay close, to pray, to worship, to have recourse to the sacraments, so that the graces God wants to give us can flow freely into our hearts and take root in our lives.  Mary is our example and our guide, one who was open to the grace of God with a purity and completeness unmatched by any other.  Her example and her prayers lead us to Christ and show us the way to the eternal life of heaven.  May we follow her example.  May we seek her intercession every day.