The Immaculate Conception: Meeting God in Our Lowest Parts
All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri
Ascension
5 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Do you ever feel intimidated by Mary’s holiness? In this special episode recorded at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Dr. Sri unpacks the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, explaining that Mary’s holiness doesn’t distance her from us—instead, it reveals that God is drawn to our littleness and delights in meeting us right where we are.
_
- For full shownotes, visit Ascensionpress.com/Allthingscatholic, or text ALLTHINGSCATHOLIC to 33-777 for weekly shownotes sent to your inbox.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This podcast is brought to you by Ascension. To discover even more free Catholic podcasts, |
| 0:05.5 | videos, and resources, to help you live your faith every day, visit ascensionpress.com. |
| 0:12.0 | Hi, I'm Edwards Three, and welcome to all things Catholic, where real faith meets real life. |
| 0:20.0 | Hi, I'm Edward. faith meets real life. |
| 0:28.7 | Hi, I'm Edwards 3, and today's special edition of All Things Catholic was recorded on location in the Holy Land at the Church of the Enunciation in Nazareth. |
| 0:33.7 | Well, here we are on pilgrimage in Nazareth, in the Holy Land, standing right outside the |
| 0:39.1 | Church of the Annunciation. And this magnificent church recalls that historic moment when the |
| 0:45.7 | angel Gabriel came to the Blessed Virgin Mary, right here over the excavations of Mary's |
| 0:51.2 | house in the first century, this is where the enunciation took place. |
| 0:55.2 | But I have to tell you, I don't know if you ever experienced this, but when you think about |
| 0:58.9 | Mary, and when the angel comes and says, hail full of grace, the Lord is with you, and you think |
| 1:04.3 | about who she was and how holy she was and how close to God she was, do you ever feel intimidated |
| 1:10.3 | by the Blessed Virgin Mary? I mean, we love her, right? I mean, we honor her, we venerate her, we sing all these songs, we pray the rosary. But do you ever sometimes feel like, I can't relate? You know, I don't know if you ever experience this, but I've thought about this in my own life. She's so pure. She's so holy. She's so perfect. And I know I have |
| 1:30.1 | so many parts of me that are not holy and not perfect. In fact, when you think about what happened here, |
| 1:36.0 | when the angel reveals her name, remember, the angel doesn't say Hail Mary full of grace, |
| 1:40.6 | like we do in the Hail Mary prayer. What does the angel actually say? Hail, full of grace. |
| 1:46.6 | And what a number of biblical scholars have highlighted is it's as if the angels addressing Mary |
| 1:52.3 | with a new name. Hail, you who are full of grace. Just like Abrams name was changed to Abraham |
| 1:58.6 | when he becomes the father of a multitude of nations, |
| 2:00.9 | because that's what Abraham means, a father of a multitude of nations. Mary being addressed by the |
| 2:06.1 | angel as full of grace. That's like telling us something about her, the core of her identity. |
| 2:14.1 | She is full of grace. And we know from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception that she |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 13 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ascension, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Ascension and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.