December 8, 2025,
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary #689, Luke 1: 26-38

Scripture
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection
The custom of giving gifts for Christmas was a great idea. Of course, a gift is not quite the same as grace, but for the sake of the season and for argument, let us say that the two are compatible. In this well-known passage, the author of the Gospel makes it clear that everything concerning God’s dealings with humanity speaks of grace, a totally free and self-giving gift of God to people.

Once again, a clear truth emerges: the initiative comes from God. “The angel Gabriel was sent by God.” And God was not forced to choose a famous holy person in a large holy city. This angel was dispatched “to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.” The town was practically unknown until this event.

The angel greets her and calls her “favored one.” She was not chosen for her merit but by God’s own favor, or grace. The angel says, in fact, “You have found favor with God.” The gospel reveals that from its very inception, our rescue from sin was a freely given gift of grace, pure and simple.

Mary was chosen, and Jesus was born, not because all this would eventually make a good story or add a little color to religion, but because God wanted humankind to be involved in its own salvation as well. When Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”, she expressed the ideal response to any of God’s summoning. The graceful yes was an apt response to a graceful calling.

God did not grant this grace from afar out of fear of becoming too deeply involved in the dirty sins of humankind. God chose, and we stress chose, to come to earth and share fully in the salvation of people from sin: “The holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

The Spirit of God was to play a role in the coming of the Son upon the earth. Indeed, whatever contributes to our reconciliation with God, whatever brings us closer to God is accomplished by the Three: God, the first Person of the Trinity, the Son, and the Spirit. In this scene, the angel speaks in God’s name, and the Son of God will become the Son of Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is good to remember that we were saved with enthusiasm.

Mary was also sent to La Salette. Her coming to the mountain, her words, the care and concern she expressed, the warnings, the promises, the apparition itself, all these come under the heading of grace. One cannot help but think that the tears Mary shed at La Salette expressed the very sorrow of God. This endless skein of the gifts of God, then, is not the chilled offerings of an impersonal Deity overtaken by detached pity.

These all come under the heading of personal grace, hailing from a personal God who chose to send Mary to this deeply unknown place, to these little children. We need to look upon La Salette not only as a message, or a warning or a threat, not only as the expression of God’s displeasure and sadness, but as what it is first and foremost, an event motivated by love.
If La Salette does anything, it reminds us that God’s concern for humans is still as passionate as the cross, still deep as tears.

La Salette Invocation
Our Lady of La Salette, reconciler of sinners,
pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.