'God's Plan For Mary Revealed His Plan For Each One Of Us'

During Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at St. Benedict Cathedral on Dec. 8, Bishop Charles C. Thompson noted that the story of Archangel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary – announcing that she would conceive and bear a son, and name him Jesus – includes a message that remains valid today.

“God’s plan for Mary revealed His plan for each one of us as children of God,” Bishop Thompson said in his homily. “And like Mary, we have to strive to listen; we have to strive to have the courage and the humility to recognize that we are humble servants, humble witnesses and humble instruments of the Lord.”

The bishop concelebrated Mass with Benedictine Father Godfrey Mullen, Rector of St. Benedict Cathedral. Deacon Thomas Kempf assisted. Students and faculty from St. Benedict Cathedral School attended, with students singing in the choir for the Mass and serving as lectors.

“We celebrate today how Mary shows us how to be obedient, how to be humble, how to recognize God’s mercy and love at work in us even when we don’t understand … and how to trust; how to trust in God,” Bishop Thompson said. “Let us pray for the grace that, like Mary, we may stay open to that encounter with God’s grace.”

He added, “Pope Francis, in beginning the season of Advent, asked us simply to keep our hearts and minds open to encountering the sacred presence of God not only in Mass, but in each other, in our families, in  our schools in our neighborhoods – wherever we are.”