Today is one of my favorite feast days. Why? Because Mary’s Immaculate Conception is the certainty that what Christ did on the Cross worked. It is the living hope of humanity’s redemption.

For redemption to be complete, it not only has to be perfectly given, it also has to be perfectly received. It has been perfectly given in Christ, and perfectly received in Mary, who, through “a singular grace and privilege” was “redeemed from the moment of her conception” (CCC 491).

Volumes could be written about the connection between this feast and the “great mystery” unfolded in John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). For starters, it’s no mere coincidence that John Paul II began writing his TOB on this marvelous feast day – the handwritten date on page one of his original manuscript says December 8, 1974. And above that he wrote this dedication: Tota Pulchra es Maria – “You are all beautiful, Mary” – a clear adaptation of the bridegroom’s words in the Song of Songs, “You are all beautiful, my love, there is no blemish in you” (Song 4:7).

It’s a long held tradition of the Church to recognize Mary as the “unblemished” bride spoken of in the Song of Songs. As the perfect model of the Church, Mary represents the mystical bride for whom Christ “gave himself up … that he might sanctify her” that she might be “without spot or wrinkle … holy and immaculate” (Eph 5:25-27).

Of course, it may seem odd to speak of Mary in some way representing Christ’s bride. Archbishop Fulton Sheen explained it this way: “Now we’ve always thought, and rightly so, of Christ the Son on the cross and the mother beneath him. But that’s not the complete picture. That’s not the deep understanding. Who is our Lord on the cross? He’s the new Adam. Where’s the new Eve? At the foot of the cross. … And so the bridegroom looks down at the bride. He looks at his beloved. Christ looks at his Church. There is here the birth of the Church.”

[tweetthis]For redemption to be complete, it not only has to be perfectly given, it also has to be perfectly received.[/tweetthis]

In a very real way, Mary was immaculately conceived – that is, she perfectly received the gift of redemption – not only in her mother’s womb, but also at the foot of the Cross. In fact, the event that took place in Saint Anne’s womb is inexplicable without the event that took place at the Cross. The Immaculate Conception of Mary in her mother’s womb is nothing other than the perfect application of the mercy poured out at the Cross.

How fitting it is that Pope Francis has inaugurated an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy today, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception! To open ourselves to the grace of this year is to receive in new measure the joy of the Gospel – a constant theme of Francis’s pontificate.

His document of that same name, The Joy of the Gospel, is the theme of my latest work – Pope Francis to Go: Bite-Sized Morsels from the Joy of the Gospel. The Cor Project is making this gift-style book available at a steep bulk discount so it will be easy and inexpensive to share with friends and family this Christmas. Learn more here.

Share your comments on Facebook and Twitter…