The privilege of Mary Immaculate does not consist
solely in the absence of original sin, but much more in being "full of
grace." The Mother of Jesus gave to the world that very life which renews
all things ... and was enriched by God with gifts befitting such a role ... She
was adorned from the first instant of her conception with the splendors of an
entirely unique holiness (Lumen Gentium 56).
Gabriel's greeting, "Hail,
full of grace, the Lord is with you!" is the strongest testimony of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary, who would not be "full of grace" in the complete
sense of the word if she had been stained by sin for a single moment.
Thus the
Blessed Virgin began life with a richness of grace which far surpasses that
which the greatest saints acquire at the end of their lives. When we also
consider her absolute fidelity and her total availability to God, we can
faintly imagine to what heights of love and communion with God she attained far
beyond all other creatures in heaven and on earth (Lumen Gentium 53).
Divine
Intimacy
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.
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