Daily Inspiration

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.” -Luke 1:26-38

Ever since the serpent tempted Eve, and then Eve tempted Adam, every child born since has been born into original sin. The stain of man’s fall is passed from mother and father to their child, just as their hair and eye color are.

The only hope for a child to be born free of the bondage of sin is if the parents themselves could somehow escape this hereditary stain. So it was that God chose Mary from before time to bring Himself in the flesh as the redeemer promised since the fall. The Lord created Mary, ‘Full of God’s Grace,’ leaving no room for anything else, not even sin, to occupy her being. Mary, full of grace, and the Holy Spirit, her Spouse, brought into being the Christ Child, born without sin, to redeem the world.

“The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.” -Genesis 3:20. Eve’s disobedience to God ushered sin into the world. Through Mary’s obedience to God, because of her ‘Yes,’ she became the mother of the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and brought the Redeemer of sin into the world.

Saint Patapios, pray for us.

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Jesus, I trust in you.