I will be directing an Advent Retreat for my parish titled, By Grace You Have Been Saved. (From Ephesians 2).
The retreat uses the framework of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius.
The Spiritual Exercises have four thematic weeks. The retreat will have four prayer periods corresponding to those themes. The themes are:
Prayer Period One: Sin and God’s Love and Mercy — We are in need of salvation
Prayer Period Two: The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ
Prayer Period Three: The Passion of Christ
Prayer Period Four: The Resurrection of Christ – Learning to Love as God Loves
I am using readings appropriate for the prayer themes. Each prayer period will use one of the themes in order.
The first prayer period uses Ephesians 2:1-10. The key phrase in the passage is, by grace you have been saved.
What does this mean? Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminded them that they were saved, not by their own merits, but by God’s freely given gift of salvation.
The second prayer period uses Luke 1:26-38. This is the story of the Annunciation.
The third prayer period uses John 19:25-27. Mary is standing at the foot of the cross. She is suffering. The Beloved Disciple John is appointed by Jesus to care for His mother and for Mary to take John as her son.
The fourth prayer period uses Acts 1:13-14; 2:1-4. There is no mention of Mary by name in any of the resurrection stories in the gospels. She is mentioned in Acts of the Apostles. She was with the apostles on Pentecost.
Mary’s redemption was dependent on Christ’s work of salvation. She was preserved from original sin at conception. She still possessed a free will and could have said no to the Archangel Gabriel. Her “fiat”, her yes to God’s will at the Annunciation, which provided the means by which Christ could be conceived, is what led to the salvation of all of mankind. By grace, Mary was saved. Through her cooperation, the rest of us were saved.
It is fitting, as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we also celebrate the cooperation of Mary in God’s plan for salvation.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Greg Gillen
© 2025 Greg Gillen
November 2, 2025
Scripture/Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition
Image Credit /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Bartolomé_Esteban_Perez_Murillo_023.jpg
