A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:1-8)
From Pope Benedict XVI’s homily for the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2005:
Dear brothers and sisters, if we sincerely reflect about ourselves and our history, we have to say that with this narrative [in Gen 3:1-7] is described not only the history of the beginning but the history of all times, and that we all carry within us a drop of the poison of that way of thinking, illustrated by the images in the Book of Genesis.
We call this drop of poison “original sin”. Precisely on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we have a lurking suspicion that a person who does not sin must really be basically boring and that something is missing from his life: the dramatic dimension of being autonomous; that the freedom to say no, to descend into the shadows of sin and to want to do things on one’s own is part of being truly human; that only then can we make the most of all the vastness and depth of our being men and women, of being truly ourselves; that we should put this freedom to the test, even in opposition to God, in order to become, in reality, fully ourselves.
In a word, we think that evil is basically good, we think that we need it, at least a little, in order to experience the fullness of being. We think that Mephistopheles – the tempter – is right when he says he is the power “that always wants evil and always does good” (J.W. von Goethe, Faust I, 3). We think that a little bargaining with evil, keeping for oneself a little freedom against God, is basically a good thing, perhaps even necessary.
If we look, however, at the world that surrounds us we can see that this is not so; in other words, that evil is always poisonous, does not uplift human beings but degrades and humiliates them. It does not make them any the greater, purer or wealthier, but harms and belittles them.
Reflection:
Do I ever think that if I am “too good” life will be boring? Do I think that goodness is boring? Do I try to leave a little room for evil in my life, maybe on the weekend or just on Friday night or on vacation or after everyone has gone to bed? Am I only good when my spouse is nearby or an authority figure? Do I gloss over my sinfulness and justify it, even in the Confessional, with a phrase like, “Boys will be boys,” or “You gotta have a little fun!” Can I hear God calling me to a deeper conversion, to shut down these outlets and pursue goodness more whole-heartedly?
No one lived a more exciting life than Jesus and Mary, starting from when Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary at the Annunciation and then she carried Him to her cousin Elizabeth. When we are willing to live in such a constant dependent relationship with Mary by being in her womb, life becomes more exciting, full and rich.
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Ave Maris Stella or Sub Tuum Praesidium
Litany of Penance or Radiating Christ
Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary