What is holding you back?…..”For nothing is impossible with God”

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception…..Mary was conceived free from sin unlike us because she was called to bear the son of God…..Jesus who also was pure could not come from something that was stained by sin - Think about it…Therefore God preserved Mary from original sin by the merits of his son…..William Wordsworth called Mary “our tainted natures solitary boast”…..For this reason she is mankind’s hope that one day we to will ascend into heaven body & soul….In the mean time Mary intercedes for us with her son…..Because no one knows the son as does the Mother….Mary is our Mother too…Jesus gave her to us from the Cross…”When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home”…..The most direct path to Jesus is through Mary….As all good mothers…She takes us my the hand and shows us the way to her beloved son….”His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you”……That could be the best advice ever given…“Do whatever he tells you”

“The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke the story of the Annunciation……"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”…..When we read scripture its very easy to forget that Mary was a historical figure as well as a biblical figure…....That means she was as real as we are……And Scripture today tells us she was afraid at what was being asked of her by God…That is a very human response….Following the Lord is not an easy task at times…God asks us to do things that appear to be impossible throughout the Gospel…However, God knows us better then we know ourself…….He knows what we are capable of - If only we trust him…This is why the archangel Gabriel says to Mary, “Do not be afraid”……Have you ever been faced with something that you think to be impossible?……..Well, it does not get more impossible than a virgin to have a child…But again, the angel addresses that in the gospel today as well….”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”……Do you think God’s hand only reaches out to Mary and not to you as well?…God can do the impossible for you too - If you only give him your YES as Mary did……As Catholics when we get married we are called to be open to life…That means never using contraception…..To say that you never use contraception in this day and age is thought to be crazy…But this is what the church teaches and inorder for your marriage to be Sacramental, which means God’s grace is acting in and through it, a Catholic couple must always be open to life never to use contraception…..Now don’t shoot the messenger…I am not making this up…I am only telling you what the Church teaches….My wife and I have been married for 11 years…We have never used contraception…..My wife has given birth to 5 children….What people may not know is, we have also conceived and lost 3 children as well…..I have not told many people this but two months ago, my wife Sabryna was pregnant again for the eighth time……For just one week, we thought we were going to have another baby….How I found out was, I found my wife crying on our bed…She was terrified because she has had 5 c-sections and after the last child the doctor told us that having another baby could be hazardous to my wife’s health…..After she and I spoke, we called our doctor….My wife’s body does not produce enough progesterone naturally and that is why we lost two other children in the past….The doctor immediately prescribed progesterone shots to help keep the baby alive in her womb……….We only went through one cycle of the shots before we lost the child…Our third child lost over the course of eleven years of marriage…..For one week, we anticipated another baby coming into our home…..Why tell you this?…Because my wife while open to life (and still is) was terrified when she thought she was having another child because she was told after five c-sections her life would be in danger…Yet, she trusted God and still does!…Why?…..Because God always takes care of his children and God does not give us something to do that cannot be done, if we trust him - Take that to the bank!….”For nothing is impossible with God”.

“Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women”

Scripture tells us that Mary was afraid….But she got beyond her fear and put her hand into the hand of God….We must do the same…..Following God is not always easy….But I am fully convinced its the only way to live…A life filled with God’s grace can do all things….As married couples we need God’s grace and God will never let us down……..But we need to learn to trust him….As St Luke’s gospel today tells us…Mary said yes to the angel even though she was afraid……”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”…..As children of Mary we too must learn to trust and be open to God with a true and clean heart - And if we do, the “Holy Spirit will come upon you” too……What is holding you back?…..”For nothing is impossible with God”