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Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Today's Lectionary Readings
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As a young girl growing up, I struggled with Mary's example of
perfection. As a child who was continually navigating right from
wrong, understanding 'free will' and what it meant for
Mary to be born without sin was difficult to comprehend.  While
there were/are aspects of that gift that I find encouraging, more than
anything, I wanted to learn what it meant to say, "Let it be
done to me according to your word."[1] Also, perfection seemed
boring, no matter how many times my grandmother tried to tell me I
should keep trying. 
#_ftn1

The "gift" of free will has taken on different meanings
through the years. My grandmother taught me how to knit, and I have
picked it up at different times.  Most recently, my former
housemate Jessica in DC encouraged me to pick it back up.  If I
think of my life as a knitted shawl, the stitches reflect my free will
or acknowledge when I have set myself apart from God.  The shawl
of my life consists of dropped stitches, added stitches, representing
a perfect specimen to unravel and start again. 

Today's first reading is an invitation to examine our
understanding of original sin and how even when humanity makes wrong
decisions and is close to unraveling, we are encouraged to always
remember how close God desires to be with us.  We can and should
take time to reflect on our decisions, and the harm our decisions
cause others. Adam and Eve wanted to "be perfect", hence
why they ate the apple. Both quickly desired to be covered and not
naked.  Their decision to not listen to God was revealed, and
humanity has been working to "pick up the stitches" ever
since. 

This time in Advent whispers in our hearts that we can
"reset" or "turn" again in our life, to fix
the stitches.  We have a beautiful opportunity to convert or make
new (metanoia in Greek). To make new is not to seek perfection. 
We are fully human and are called to live in right relationship with
God which we do through the call and answer of justice and
charity.   As a universal Church, we "reset" by
spending the days and weeks of Advent re-reading our early origin
stories and re-learning what it means to be in right relationship with
God. 

We read and encounter the stories as reminders to one another. 
Even with the consequences of our actions, God never stops loving us,
even in our full expression of humanity.  The challenge for all
in these moments of metanoia is to remember that God loves us
all!  Even the politicians, or the people who make life hard,
people who have devastated entire communities and nations.  May
we continue to pick up stiches, rework the shawl of our own lives in
the metanoia moments of Advent.

Genevieve Mougey is Executive Director of Catholic Charities of
Wyoming.

[1] Luke 1:38
#_ftnref1




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