Today, we celebrate Mary who is the “Im-maculate” (spotless), holy, since she was conceived: as a singular divine favor, God saved her from the original and “contagious” sin. The wonderful story of the Annunciation to Mary helps us to understand the content of the title “Immaculate”.

The angel’s greeting is interwoven with threads from the Old Testament. Mary, the humble provincial woman who comes from a priestly lineage, is the “holy remnant” of Israel, as referred by the prophets in all turbulent periods. In her, the true Zion is present: in her heart God finds peace. She is the sprout that, in the dark winter night of history, flowers from David’s beaten trunk: of her germinates the tree of redemption. God has not failed, as it may appear at the beginning of the story: God saved and saves His people.

—Mary, you are the holy Israel, you say “yes” to God, you become fully available to Him, and so you become the living temple of God.