The Virgin Mary is among one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given to humanity. He knew that all of us needed a mother that we could turn to who would walk with us along the path of discipleship. He knew that we needed someone we could turn to who would help lead us to Him. He knew that we needed a mother.

But He couldn’t just choose anyone for that task. It had to be a woman who was set apart from the rest of humanity. It had to be someone who was pure of heart, who was gentle, loving, compassionate. It had to be someone who knew about God, who embraced Godly values, who knew the Scriptures, who understood the importance of being in relationship with the Father. It needed to be someone worthy to bear the Son of God, who was without the stain of sin, who had no ounce of contempt. It had to be someone who could bear suffering, who would know how to turn to God in those moments, how to rely on His grace to help her through. It had to be a woman of humility, of great courage, of deep faith, but also of significant determination and strength.

And so, God chose Mary. He gave her such a tremendous amount of grace and favor, made her immaculately, protected her from original sin, and set her apart to be the Mother of His Son, Our Savior. That’s what we celebrate today.

And it’s appropriate that we celebrate this Feast of Our Lady in Advent as we prepare for the coming of the Christ-child. Pope St. John Paul II once commented on that, saying: “This important Marian feast occurs during Advent, a season of watchful and prayerful preparation for Christmas. She who knew better than anyone how to wait attentively for the Lord guides us and shows us how to make more vital and active our journey to the Holy Night of Bethlehem.”

May we walk toward that night with Our Blessed Mother guiding us, that we might be prepared to welcome Jesus anew into our hearts.

Painting: The Immaculate Conception, Guido Reni. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Licensed under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Wikimedia Commons.