The Blessed Virgin was not the only woman conceived without Original sin.There was another…And her name was Eve.And while the Blessed Virgin said YES, Eve – also without sin – said NO…
I have been reflecting on the marvellous magnificence of the Blessed Virgin and on the great beauty of her soul and I have somehow – obviously through the influence of the Holy Spirit – stumbled upon the most tremendous realisation…
You see, as I was sitting quietly in Mass the other day, it suddenly occurred to me that I have been thinking about the Queen of Heaven all wrong.
You see, all my life, when I reflect on the Blessed Virgin, I have thought most often on her sinless state. And there is nothing wrong with that. You see, there is great beauty in a sinless soul. And so, in my reflections about the Blessed Virgin, I have considered the beauty of the Blessed Virgin’s soul as a soul unblemished by sin. And though there is nothing wrong with that reflection – and it is in fact quiet a beautiful thing to contemplate – by focusing on her sinless state, I have somehow assumed that this sinlessness was equated with a diminished capacity for freedom.
While it is true that God created the soul of the Blessed Virgin as His greatest masterpiece of creation, it is equally true that he created the Blessed Virgin with complete and perfect freedom.
This means that when the Angel Gabriel came to her and asked her to be the mother of God the Son, the Blessed Virgin truly did have the freedom to say, “No thank you.” Her sinlessness did not preclude her from choosing her own comfort at times. And yet – because she was so perfectly in love with God – the Blessed Virgin gave her “fiat” “And Mary said: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.’” (Luke 1:38). And because she did not say “no thank you” the Blessed Virgin became the NEW EVE.
And that means that in this way, the Blessed Virgin fulfilled God’s ORIGINAL ambition in allowing us to achieve salvation and eternal life in Heaven. This was the plan that Eve disrupted through Original Sin.
And it was when I reflected upon this title of the Blessed Virgin as the NEW EVE that I really began to understand something more of her significance and the utter wonder of her fiat! Previously I have sort of assumed that the Blessed Virgin would have had to say yes to the Angel because she was sinless. But I realised something the other day and it turned my assumptions on their head…
You see, the Blessed Virgin was not the only woman conceived without Original sin. There was another… And her name was Eve. And while the Blessed Virgin said YES, Eve – also without sin – said NO…
And now that I realise that fact, I am literally struck dumb at the magnificence of the Blessed Virgin. You see, the Blessed Virgin was NOT the first virgin woman who was asked to submit to the Holy Will of God to ensure the salvation of humanity. And she was not the first virgin woman who was created without sin. Eve was! And even despite all the advantages that Eve had at her disposal, including the relative paradise of the Garden of Eden, still Eve said NO – not yes – when she failed to submit to the Holy Will of God and committed the Original Sin by eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
And so, as I consider the Blessed Virgin – the NEW Eve – with all her DISADVANTAGES, being born in a world riddled with sin, I cannot help but marvel at the beauty of a soul who could say YES to God and NO to sin. Because if Eve failed to do that – even in her sinless state – it is surely the most difficult thing in all the world.
How awesome in my Lord and God King of the Universe, who conceived of such a soul as the Blessed Virgin. For it was her YES that allowed Him to save the world. And I cannot help but stop in wonder at how extraordinary a thing that is…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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