The fullness of life

Bishop Scott Bullock
Homily from the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Rapid City
December 9, 2024

The summer before I ended up going to seminary I spent one last time with my parents in their home. Mom and dad, at the time, were living in an old farm property in Howell, Mich., and I thought that to while away the time that summer, I was working in an auto part factory most of the day, I’d plant a big garden. So, I spoke to the neighbors who had an awesome John Deere tractor with an incredible rototiller behind it. They let me borrow that. It took one pass down the area where the garden was to be, and I thought, “This is pretty easy. I think I’ll take a few more passes.” 

Before long I had an extraordinarily large plot perfectly cultivated, ready to receive the seeds. I don’t know how big it was. It’s kind of growing in my memory now. Something like maybe 50 feet long, 60 feet long by 25 or 30 feet across — 1500 square feet or something like that — and then carefully planted all the seeds and just was ready for God to do his magic. I wasn’t much of a gardener however, and I discovered before long that there would be competition in this area. We call those weeds and before long the weeds overtook the whole property where I had cultivated. It was a constant battle. The poor green beans and green peppers and carrots had no chance. The weeds were king of my garden. 

I think that natural illustration gives us a suggestion about the nature of this feast day in the sense that if God wanted to do something great and bring the fullness of life into this world there could be no competition in that place. There could be no weed of shall we say “sin” to block the great outpouring of life into our midst. And so, for that reason, God who desires nothing but complete life for us, nothing but complete communion with us, had to prepare a place for the Son of God to be born, that would have no obstacle for life, the life of the Son of God. Hence the nature of our teaching of the Immaculate Conception — that Mary conceived without the effects of original sin so that she could be the perfect shall we say “seedbed” to receive the life of God with no obstacles in the way. It speaks to the desire which God has for all of us as I suggested for the fullness of life and so it’s completely reasonable, this teaching, this doctrine of our faith, because of what God is trying to do in the Blessed Mother Mary. He’s trying to pour the fullness of life into her for her sake. 

The good news this morning, and every morning when we gather here for the Eucharist, is that same Son of God, that same second person of the Holy Trinity who was born in the womb of Mary is going to be offered for us here in perfection. The fullness of life; that’s the way our God is. He wants us to have the fullness of life. So, the same God who conceived of this eternal plan for our fullness of life, also through the Son Jesus, has left us the gift of the Eucharist so that we might have that same life implanted in our souls. 

We do need the Lord to help us though with his mercy, right? That we might be able to receive the riches of the same Son of God into our own hearts. We need his mercy. We need his mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We need his mercy at this time. The good news is the Lord has given us everything we need to bear, to receive and bear his life.

So, brothers and sisters, let’s come on this feast day and give thanks to God for his plan for full communion for us and that no obstacle need be in our way if we’ll come to his mercy. May it indeed be so. Lord, come dwell in us in your fullness.