Feast of the Immaculate Conception

A blessed feast day to all!

Today we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Of all the dogmas posited by the church this one is probably the most misunderstood. The church teaches that God the Father protected Mary from original sin from the moment of her conception. That is Mary was born without the stain of the orginal sin of Adam and Eve.

Of course many people question the validity of this teaching. Jesus, by living a perfect life, dying, and rising from the dead opened the path to salvation for all human kind. How could Mary who was obviously concieved before these events took place in history be protected from orginal sin prior to Jesus' saving work on earth? Part of the answer lies in understanding that God lives outside of time and linear progressions. Even Jesus says in the Gospels, "To God, all are alive." (my paraphrase) God can look at the entire expanse of human history from beginning to end in a single moment. He is not limited by the physical laws of the universe in his extensions of grace and mercy. That is why the church also teaches that Jesus' saving work though taking place at a specific time in history extends both forward and backward to offer salvation to all who will choose to receive it. That is to say, the Risen Christ has transcended time. We celebrate with Mary who was chosen to fulfill a special role in the saving work of Christ that we can all be cleansed of original sin and someday transcend time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ joining Him in the eternal heavenly banquet.

And you probably thought it was some sci-fi writer who invented the time travel paradox....Know you know better. :-)