Gospel: December 8, 2025
December 8, 2025 (Monday)
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
1st Reading: Genesis 3:9-15, 20
2nd Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God, to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with
you!” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son; and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob forever; and his reign shall have no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative, Elizabeth, is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.” Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Reflection:
“We freely choose to surrender ourselves to God.”
“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Today we celebrate the wonder of God’s grace, as displayed in the life of Mary, from the very moment of her conception. God preserved her from the stain of original sin, so that she did not carry within her the effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Without concupiscence, that is, without a propensity to selfishness and sin, her natural tendency to look to the good and toward God was uninhibited. And so, this state of grace allowed her always to want God’s will, naturally and freely. Mary’s grace-filled state didn’t take away her will or her freedom. Rather, it liberated her will and her freedom to choose always what’s best and what is of God. This also means that our desire for holiness and the life of grace doesn’t turn us into robots or automatons, without freedom. Rather, like Mary, we freely choose to surrender ourselves to God, attuning ourselves to him, that we might receive his grace, and in doing so, our will is freed more and more from selfishness. Therefore, our choices and actions become fairer and more loving. Mary Immaculate, help us to follow the path of holiness.
