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(Gn.3:9-15,20;\xa0\xa0 Ps.98:1-4;\xa0\xa0 Eph.1:3-6,11-12;\xa0\xa0 Lk.1:26-38) \xa0 \u201cHe chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him.\u201d \xa0 And she is the sign of such preservation from evil. \xa0\u201cHail, full of grace!\xa0 The Lord is with you.\u201d\xa0 And so the Virgin Mother is greeted by the power of the Most High.\xa0 So she is called \u2013 \u201cfull of grace\u201d is her title.\xa0 She whom all generations will call blessed is revealed in this simple greeting as having \u201cfound favor with God.\u201d\xa0 And so, \u201cthe child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God,\u201d the Son of her who has been preserved by grace. \u201cIn accord with the favor of His will, for the praise of the glory of His grace,\u201d this has been done \u2013 she has been immaculately conceived, kept from the stain of sin.\xa0 Not that she herself might be worshiped is the Virgin kept pure, but indeed she does \u201cexist for the praise of His glory.\u201d\xa0 \u201cMy soul magnifies the Lord,\u201d she has proclaimed\u2026 and it is so.\xa0 She is but the sign that \u201cHis right hand has won victory for Him\u201d; she is the instrument through which \u201cthe Lord has made His salvation known.\u201d How wonderfully this is expressed in her own words of consent to His call: \u201cBehold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.\xa0 May it be done to me according to your word.\u201d\xa0 Here in this blessed obedience she sets in motion the cleansing of our sin of disobedience she shall bring by the fruit of her womb, a disobedience painfully recounted for us in our first reading \u2013 a disobedience which has caused us to hide from the face of God.\xa0 But no longer will we be trapped in this hell.\xa0 No more will we flee from the presence of Him who is our Creator, for by her humble obedience, and our own, in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we will have our nakedness covered over and become holy as He. The Virgin is our Mother.\xa0 She who has \u201cno relations with a man\u201d has brought about the salvation of all men \u201cin accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of His will.\u201d\xa0 And so the curse is removed from us.\xa0 And so we might \u201csing joyfully to the Lord,\u201d for \u201cin the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice\u201d; through this simple virgin He has brought us His grace.\xa0 And now we may be pure as He. \xa0 Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music By Carie Fortney; used by permission. \xa0 ******* O LORD, the serpent comes to Eve, and we fall; the angel comes to Mary, and we rise \u2013 in selfish disobedience we do the devil\u2019s work; in selfless obedience we serve you\u2026 O let us be your children!\xa0 YHWH, full of grace is the Mother of your Son; by your will you have made her pure that she might carry Him who is perfect into this world.\xa0 We praise you for your goodness to her, for it means goodness to us \u2013 it means our salvation has come! With every spiritual blessing in the heavens you have showered us by your grace and mercy, O LORD, by the love you offer us in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.\xa0 And so we might stand holy and without blemish before you; and so we might be even as Mary our Mother, even as Jesus her Son.\xa0 O let us be incorporated into your glory, dear God! Our sin has been grievous.\xa0 We have turned away from you. \xa0Our disobedience has wrought your just punishment, LORD.\xa0 But salvation you bring to us this day by the word of the angel.\xa0 And so we praise you for your faithfulness in saving us; and so we offer our lives with Mary your handmaiden \u2013 in our lives let your Word be accomplished.