Immaculate ? Untouchable
When I think of the word “immaculate,” I think of a spotless, sterile room with white walls and curtains, crystal-clear windows, and either a white carpet or shining hardwood floor. You know, the type of room that you almost don’t want to go into for fear of tracking a spot of dirt on the carpet or leaving a smudge on a window or wall.
I used to see Our Lady in that way. Why in the world would she want to be associated with my dirty, selfish heart and my weak, fallen soul? I would only stain her immaculate robes with the filth of my sin and littleness. In my sin, I would feel ashamed or embarrassed to even approach her.
But the irony of Our Lady’s special grace is that by drawing close to her, it’s she that impacts us—not the other way around. By drawing close to her, that purity and grace actually begin to cleanse us and to help us grow in holiness.
She is not scandalized by our embarrassment and our hesitance, by our spiritual dirt and our emotional baggage. They don’t scare her in the least. In fact, as a true mother to all Christians, seeing our weakness and our wounds only increases the compassion of her heart and her desire to embrace us, her children.
She only cares about our desire to love Our Lord more and our persistence in coming to her as often as we can so that she, in turn, can constantly point us in the direction of her Son.
We needn’t worry about dirtying a spotless garment when we encounter her. Her Immaculate heart is already open, waiting to embrace us.
