Original sin – the fall – the story we are all familiar with there in Genesis – Adam and Eve – they eat the fruit from the tree – Sin and death has entered the world – we are all affected by it – Armies, Military, wars and revolutions, sin remains, death remains – police, courts, juries, prisons – sin remains, death remains – Democracy, elections, government, politics – sin remains, death remains – NO structure or power of man can solve the problem of evil – what is needed is a new Adam and a new Eve.
A new Adam, one that can make right the sin of Adam in the garden – pulling all things to himself – Christ is the new Adam - But there is also a new Eve – there is Mary – Conceived without sin – It is by her immaculate conception that she is able to give her fait – her yes – “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” – Her yes, undoing the sin of Eve – yes to God, whereas Eve said no. To be the worthy mother of Jesus.
How could she do this? She was conceived without sin – For she was protected from sin by the future death and resurrection of Christ. And it is through her and her intercession we look to Christ and salvation - In the opening prayer today, we prayed, asking God “that, as you preserved Mary from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.”
In the 1840s, the US bishop chose Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, to be the patroness of the United States. It is easy to look to many places for the solution to sins – The army, war, and revolutions – but no solution to evil is found there. – At best, an evil is kept at bay; usually, it only brings more.
Police, courts, juries, prisons – This might be a way to limit evil – but they only come into effect after the crime – for sin still holds, still happens – Human justice always comes up short.
Structures, elections, democracy, politics – important for working towards a better society? Yes – removing and solving sin? No – evil is roams, evil can win elections, evil can be popular – no balance of powers can remove the stain of sin, no matter how perfect.
But Christ, who we come to through the intercession of Mary, his mother. Mother conceived without sin, the new Eve – There is hope – We turn to Mary and her immaculate conception, the patroness of our Country – and as that we might be cleansed and admitted to God’s presence through her intercession. - “that, as you preserved Mary from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.”