Immaculate

Mary’s Immaculate Flesh and the Mystery of Salvation

The mystery of the Immaculate Conception is intrinsically tied to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I am filled with awe at the way God's saving plan is revealed through her person. Mary stands at the heart of salvation history—not as an abstract ideal, but as a created woman whose "yes" to God forever changed humanity's destiny. Her Immaculate Conception, the grace by which she was preserved from original sin from the very first moment of her existence, is not just a privilege granted to her; it marks the beginning of a new creation, the dawn of redemption made visible in human flesh.  In Mary, God's initiative shines forth, as He prepares a pure and free partner to receive the Word and cooperate fully in His plan of salvation. Just as in a mirror – Eve was brought from the flesh and bone of Adam - Jesus is brought forth from the flesh and bone of Mary. Our salvation is directly connected to the uniqueness of the Immaculate Conception in the reflected imagery of Adam and Eve.

The connection between Mary's flesh and Christ's own Incarnation is a mystery we can comprehend in light of Church teaching. From her immaculate flesh, Christ took on our nature, entering the world not in kingly adoration but through the reality of a lowly servant's womb. Her perfection at the Immaculate Conception is what enables the miracle of the Incarnation: only a sinless vessel (1 John 1:5), filled with grace, could offer a truly worthy home for the Son of God for in Him there is no unrighteousness (Psalm 92:15). In this sense, Mary's holiness is not a separation from us, but an anticipation and promise of what grace can accomplish in each of us. Her "fiat"—her complete openness to God—was made possible by the fullness of grace she received, and it is this fiat that echoes throughout salvation history as the reversal of Eve's "no."

Contemplating Mary's Assumption, I see the culmination of the divine work begun in her Immaculate Conception. This mystery of her creation carries fully into the Assumption. It is not only the beatification of Mary's body and soul, but a pledge and foretaste of the destiny awaiting all who are united to Christ. Mary's glorified body—once the very source of Christ's flesh—reveals that the material world, too, is destined for transformation and communion with God. She is the "eschatological icon" of the Church and of each believer, showing us that heaven is not a distant hope but a present reality already begun in her and promised to those who follow her example of faith. 

The understanding that Christ was both fully human and fully divine drives our understandings of our salvation and what Christ meant when he taught the Pharisees that there is no marriage in heaven (Luke 20:34-38) and that those of faith are among the living, one in Christ's Flesh, just as Christ was one in Her flesh at the Incarnation when He assumed it by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the proclamation of St. Paul (Galatians 2:20), that Christ dwells within us that we may be brought into the hope of His glory (1 Col. 1:27). The Blessed Mother is the mirrored Eve, a new creation upon which this mystery is firmly rooted, it is Her immaculate flesh that paves the way for our flesh to unite as one with Christ in Heaven as she is one flesh in the same regard.

Mary's humanity and holiness are an invitation to the hope that I speak of: if God could so elevate a humble maiden, then our own frailty is no barrier to grace, but the very context in which God delights to act. Her maternal love, her purity, her suffering, and her joy all serve as a model and conduit for God's saving work in Christ. The mysteries of the Blessed Mother help me to understand better the reality to come, inspiring me to imitate her openness to God. I trust that God's triumphant grace can overcome every shadow of sin and lead us into the fullness of resurrection and communion with Him. In Mary, the perfection of humanity is realized, and through her, the promise of salvation becomes personal, immediate, and radiant with hope.