Week 1, Day 3
Daily Prayer
The Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Mary the Beloved Daughter of the Father
Scripture Reading from the Song of Songs 2:1-2 and Song of Songs 4:1a,7,12,15 – A Love Song from our God to His beloved: each of us
Mary, Masterpiece of God’s Mercy
The Immaculate Conception is God’s Masterpiece of Mercy. He made Mary perfect, free from all sin, just as He did when He created Adam and Eve. He gives us a similar gift through Baptism. In Baptism, we are washed free from original sin and we are made new.
Who is the Immaculate Conception? Mary. She was conceived without sin in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.
What is innocence? Innocence is the state of having done nothing wrong, nothing to be ashamed of.
The Immaculate Conception stops sin before it starts, contains sin and prevents it from ever touching Mary. Adam and Eve, through sin, distorted God’s masterpiece, but God created a new masterpiece in Mary, the first of the redeemed. We are her children and we are redeemed through the blood of the Cross and the grace of Baptism.
Is it better to fall into the mud and then take a bath, or never to fall into the mud in the first place? Of course it is better to never fall into the mud. But if we do get muddy, then we are thankful for the opportunity to take a bath. The spiritual analogy is that Mary never falls into the mud, which is sin, but we do. Through baptism we are made clean, and then we have the sacrament of reconciliation to cleanse us on a regular basis afterwards.
If Mary is the new Eve, created without sin, who is the new Adam? Jesus is the new Adam, fully God and fully man, without the stain of original sin. This is a mystery, but Jesus is truly man, so he is the new Adam, a man without original sin and in perfect union with God the Father.
Daily Pious Practice Reminder
- Make a personal act of adoration three times each day.
Closing Prayer
Father of mercy, the gift of your Son through the Virgin Mary is an epiphany of your mercy, shining over and beyond the requirements of justice. In your Son, you have re-created the humanity that was wounded by sin. We give you thanks, Father, and glorify your name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Fall of Adam and Eve