UNDERSTANDING MARY’S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

          At the beginning of the liturgical year we honor the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary. The solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8, and honors the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without original sin.   

          In 2008 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions at Lourdes, where she identified herself to St. Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception.  In 2004 we observed the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s solemn definition of this dogma on December 8, 1854.  Blessed Pius IX explained that Mary was preserved from original sin by a “singular grace and privilege” given her by God “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ,” Redeemer of the human race.  Mary, like every other human being, needed the redemptive benefits of Christ.  But in anticipation of what God did for all through Christ, she alone was preserved from original sin “from the first moment of her conception.”  As one writer asserted, hers was a “redemption by exemption.”  By her Immaculate Conception she was conceived in the fullness of grace, in the state of closest possible union with God in view of her future role as the Mother of the Redeemer.

          The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was celebrated already in the seventh century in Palestine as the Conception by St. Anne of the Theotokos (Mother of God) on December 9.  The doctrine is understood differently by some Eastern Christian Churches because of a variance in their theological understanding of original

sin.  The observance spread west from Constantinople.  Still called the Conception of St. Anne and observed on December 8, it was prominent in Naples in the ninth century; in English monasteries in the eleventh century, when it was called the feast of the conception of Our Lady; and in France in the twelfth century.

           When the feast was introduced in France, St. Bernard of Clairvaux opposed it, igniting a controversy that endured for three centuries.  Most Scholastic theologians, including St. Anselm of Canterbury, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventure opposed the doctrine on the grounds that it detracted from the universality of the redemption by Christ.  But it was defended and explained with theological clarity in the thirteenth century by Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan.  In 1263 the Franciscans adopted the feast.

          The opponents of this feast and doctrine had argued that Mary had to be touched by original sin for at least an instant, even though she was sanctified in her mother’s womb.  John Duns Scotus resolved these objections by explaining that Christ can save and redeem in two ways: he can rescue from sin those already fallen; or he can preserve one from being touched by sin even for an instant.  Mary was granted “redemption by exemption.”

          The Council of Basel in 1439 affirmed this belief.  Ten years later the Sorbonne in Paris required all its degree candidates to pledge an oath to defend the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 approved the feast with its proper Mass and Office, and in 1708 Pope Clement IX extended the feast to the universal Church and made it a holyday of obligation.

           Later the Council of Trent (1545-1563) explicitly declared that Mary was exempt from the taint of original sin.  From then on the belief was embraced generally and defended by all schools of

theology.  Many Catholic thinkers and founders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries promoted and expounded Mary’s Immaculate Conception with special interest and verve, and this doctrine became an important part of many Marian spiritualities.  One such exponent was Blessed William Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850), founder of the Marianists. 

          At the First Council of Baltimore in 1846 the Catholic bishops of the United States of America chose Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception as the patron saint of the nation.  This deepened interest in the vast new country.

          The apparition of Mary Immaculate to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 at Paris had also advanced this devotion.  At that time Mary asked the young nun to produce the Miraculous Medal, which honored the Immaculate Conception.  And the solemn definition in 1854 was the culmination of this development.  Like an additional seal of approval on the definition four years later Mary appeared to the uneducated and sickly youngster, St. Bernadette Soubirous, at Lourdes.  When Bernadette asked the Virgin Mary on March 25, 1858, to identify herself, Mary replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

          In 1863 a new Mass and Office were composed for the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  This feast is also celebrated as the Conception of Mary by the Church of England.   Among the Eastern Christian Churches the feast of the Conception by St. Anne of the Most Holy Theotokos continues to be observed on December 9.  The date set for this feast is nine months before the Birth of Mary on September 8. 

          To celebrate the centenary of the definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius XII, a devout apostle of Mary, declared 1954 a Marian Year -- the first.

         

          Now, more than 150 years later, we are privileged to continue to honor that solemn definition  of Mary's "redemption by exemption" and its recognition by Mary Immaculate at Lourdes.   

          “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.”

           

         

         

           

Solemnity - The Immaculate Conception

ACT OF CONSECRATION

O, Mary Star of the Sea,

Mother of God,

accept my entire consecration to you.

Standing before you, 

I offer your Immaculate Heart my feelings,

my thoughts, my actions, my sufferings, 

my death, 

all I can do,

all that I have,

all that I am.

I wish to love you,

to honor you,'

to defend your titles, 

especially that of your Immaculate Conception,

and to strive to imitate your virtues.

Grant that I may act in everything only through love

for the Heart of Jesus and for you,

Our Lady Star of the Sea.

The Confraternity of Our Lady Star of the Sea

Central Headquarters

PO Box 609

100-265 Morgan City, LA 70381

Solemnity Feast of the Immaculate Conception - December 8th Hour of Grace; Year of Mercy

Picture source. I would recommend you reading Kim's blog post.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is one of two holy days of obligations in Hawaii.

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 will open the Year of Mercy as proclaimed by our Holy Father Pope Francis.

Vatican's Jubilee of Mercy website

It is imperative that we participate as much as we can during this jubilee year. This is an opportunity to practice the corporal and spiritual acts of mercy and to evangelize. Take advantage of God's forgiveness and mercy by going to confession regularly.  There will also be many opportunities of gaining plenary indulgences even if you cannot make it to the Vatican.

Reminder: on December 8th, there is also the Hour of Grace.

THE REQUEST OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER FOR THE HOUR OF GRACE :

1. Day and time of the Hour of Grace: December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to be started at 12:00 noon and continuing until 1:00 p.m. for one full hour of prayer.

2. During this hour, the person making the "Hour of Grace" either at home or at Church must put away all distractions (do not answer the telephones, or answer any doors, or do anything but totally concentrate on your union with God during this special Hour of Grace).

3. Begin the Hour of Grace by praying three (3) times the 51st Psalm with out-stretched arms. (Psalm 51 appears below)

4. The rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, praising God in your own way, or by using favorite prayers, singing hymns, meditating upon other psalms, etc.

Please copy and distribute this message. Remember to pray for your country during this hour. The Blessed Virgin has requested that her important message be sent throughout the entire world. Please help her Mission: that all souls be drawn to GOD, and that JESUS will be loved in every heart. This is the perpetual song of her heart. Let it also be ours.

PSALM 51

Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.
Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.
For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.
Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.
Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.
A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.
I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.
Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.
Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.
Make Zion prosper in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifice, burnt offerings and holocausts; then bullocks will be offered on your altar.

Understanding Mary's Immaculate Conception

Picture source

Explained by Blessed John Duns Scotus

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

          At the beginning of the liturgical year we honor the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary. The solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8, and honors the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without original sin.   

          In 2008 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions at Lourdes, where she identified herself to St. Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception.  In 2004 we observed the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s solemn definition of this dogma on December 8, 1854.  Blessed Pius IX explained that Mary was preserved from original sin by a “singular grace and privilege” given her by God “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ,” Redeemer of the human race.  Mary, like every other human being, needed the redemptive benefits of Christ.  But in anticipation of what God did for all through Christ, she alone was preserved from original sin “from the first moment of her conception.”  As one writer asserted, hers was a “redemption by exemption.”  By her Immaculate Conception she was conceived in the fullness of grace, in the state of closest possible union with God in view of her future role as the Mother of the Redeemer.

          The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was celebrated already in the seventh century in Palestine as the Conception by St. Anne of the Theotokos (Mother of God) on December 9.  The doctrine is understood differently by some Eastern Christian Churches because of a variance in their theological understanding of original sin.  The observance spread west from Constantinople.  Still called the Conception of St. Anne and observed on December 8, it was prominent in Naples in the ninth century; in English monasteries in the eleventh century, when it was called the feast of the conception of Our Lady; and in France in the twelfth century.

           When the feast was introduced in France, St. Bernard of Clairvaux opposed it, igniting a controversy that endured for three centuries.  Most Scholastic theologians, including St. Anselm of Canterbury, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventure opposed the doctrine on the grounds that it detracted from the universality of the redemption by Christ.  But it was defended and explained with theological clarity in the thirteenth century by Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan.  In 1263 the Franciscans adopted the feast.

          The opponents of this feast and doctrine had argued that Mary had to be touched by original sin for at least an instant, even though she was sanctified in her mother’s womb.  John Duns Scotus resolved these objections by explaining that Christ can save and redeem in two ways: he can rescue from sin those already fallen; or he can preserve one from being touched by sin even for an instant.  Mary was granted “redemption by exemption.”

          The Council of Basel in 1439 affirmed this belief.  Ten years later the Sorbonne in Paris required all its degree candidates to pledge an oath to defend the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 approved the feast with its proper Mass and Office, and in 1708 Pope Clement IX extended the feast to the universal Church and made it a holyday of obligation.

           Later the Council of Trent (1545-1563) explicitly declared that Mary was exempt from the taint of original sin.  From then on the belief was embraced generally and defended by all schools of theology.  Many Catholic thinkers and founders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries promoted and expounded Mary’s Immaculate Conception with special interest and verve, and this doctrine became an important part of many Marian spiritualities.  One such exponent was Blessed William Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850), founder of the Marianist Family. 

          At the First Council of Baltimore in 1846 the Catholic bishops of the United States of America chose Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception as the patron saint of the nation.  This deepened interest in the vast new country.

          The apparition of Mary Immaculate to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 at Paris had also advanced this devotion.  At that time Mary asked the young nun to produce the Miraculous Medal, which honored the Immaculate Conception.  And the solemn definition in 1854 was the culmination of this development.  Like an additional seal of approval on the definition four years later Mary appeared to the uneducated and sickly youngster, St. Bernadette Soubirous, at Lourdes.  When Bernadette asked the Virgin Mary on March 25, 1858, to identify herself, Mary replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

          In 1863 a new Mass and Office were composed for the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  This feast is also celebrated as the Conception of Mary by the Church of England.   Among the Eastern Christian Churches the feast of the Conception by St. Anne of the Most Holy Theotokos continues to be observed on December 9.  The date set for this feast is nine months before the Birth of Mary on September 8. 

          To celebrate the centenary of the definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius XII, a devout apostle of Mary, declared 1954 a Marian Year -- the first.         

          Now, more than 150 years later, we are privileged to continue to honor that solemn definition and its recognition by Mary Immaculate at Lourdes.   

          “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.”

           

         

         

           

UNDERSTANDING MARY’S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Picture source

Explained by Blessed John Duns Scotus

by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.


In the early months of the liturgical year we honor two special vocations in God’s plan of salvation -- the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary and one of her special proteges, Bernadette Soubirous.

The solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8, and honors the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without original sin. February 11 is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the date of the first appearance of Our Lady to Bernadette. April 16 is the feast day of St. Bernadette.

In 2008 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions at Lourdes, where she identified herself to St. Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception. In 2004 we observed the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s solemn definition of this dogma on December 8, 1854. Blessed Pius IX explained that Mary was preserved from original sin by a “singular grace and privilege” given her by God “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, “Redeemer of the human race. Mary, like every other human being, needed the redemptive benefits of Christ. But in anticipation of what God did for all through Christ, she alone was preserved from original sin “from the first moment of her conception.” As one writer asserted, hers was a “redemption by exemption.” By her Immaculate Conception she was conceived in the fullness of grace, in the state of closest possible union with God in view of her future role as the Mother of the Redeemer.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was celebrated already in the seventh century in Palestine as the Conception by St. Anne of the Theotokos (Mother of God) on December 9. The doctrine is understood differently by some Eastern Christian Churches because of a variance in their theological understanding of original sin. The observance spread west from Constantinople. Still called the Conception of St. Anne and observed on December 8, it was prominent in Naples in the ninth century; in English monasteries in the eleventh century, when it was called the feast of the conception of Our Lady; and in France in the twelfth century.

When the feast was introduced in France, St. Bernard of Clairvaux opposed it, igniting a controversy that endured for three centuries. Most Scholastic theologians, including St. Anselm of Canterbury, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventure opposed the doctrine on the grounds that it detracted from the universality of the redemption by Christ. But it was defended and explained with theological clarity in the thirteenth century by Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan. In 1263 the Franciscans adopted the feast.

The opponents of this feast and doctrine had argued that Mary had to be touched by original sin for at least an instant, even though she was sanctified in her mother’s womb. John Duns Scotus resolved these objections by explaining that Christ can save and redeem in two ways: he can rescue from sin those already fallen; or he can preserve one from being touched by sin even for an instant. Mary was granted “redemption by exemption.”

The Council of Basel in 1439 affirmed this belief. Ten years later the Sorbonne in Paris required all its degree candidates to pledge an oath to defend the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 approved the feast with its proper Mass and Office, and in 1708 Pope Clement IX extended the feast to the universal Church and made it a holyday of obligation.

Later the Council of Trent (1545-1563) explicitly declared that Mary was exempt from the taint of original sin. From then on the belief was embraced generally and defended by all schools of theology. Many Catholic thinkers and founders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries promoted and expounded Mary’s Immaculate Conception with special interest and verve, and this doctrine became an important part of many Marian spiritualities. One such exponent was Blessed William Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850), founder of the Marianist Family.

At the First Council of Baltimore in 1846 the Catholic bishops of the United States of America chose Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception as the patron saint of the nation. This deepened interest in the vast new country.

The apparition of Mary Immaculate to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 at Paris had also advanced this devotion. At that time Mary asked the young nun to produce the Miraculous Medal, which honored the Immaculate Conception. And the solemn definition in 1854 was the culmination of this development. Like an additional seal of approval on the definition four years later Mary appeared to the uneducated and sickly youngster, St. Bernadette Soubirous, at Lourdes. When Bernadette asked the Virgin Mary on March 25, 1858, to identify herself, Mary replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

In 1863 a new Mass and Office were composed for the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. This feast is also celebrated as the
Conception of Mary by the Church of England. Among the Eastern Christian Churches the feast of the Conception by St. Anne of the Most Holy Theotokos continues to be observed on December 9. The date set for the feast is nine months before the Birth of Mary on September 8.

To celebrate the centenary of the definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius XII, a devout apostle of Mary, declared 1954 a Marian Year -- the first.
Now, more than150 years later, we were privileged to mark the sesquicentennial of that solemn definition and its recognition by Mary Immaculate at Lourdes.

“O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.”

Used with permission.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The beautiful painting above is from Terry's blog Idle Speculations. Please take a moment to read what he has to say about this beautiful work of art depicting our Blessed Mother's Immaculate Conception.

St. Bonaventure's Marian Te Deum

We praise you, O Mother of God, we proclaim you Virgin and Mother!
The entire world venerates you as Spouse of the Eternal Father!
And to you all Angels, Archangels, Cherubims and Seraphim's sing unceasingly:

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Mother of God, Mary every Virgin!
Heaven and earth are filled with the majesty of your Son!
You are honored as Queen by the whole heavenly court!
You are invoked and praised as Mother of God by the entire world and by the holy Church.
You are the gate of Heaven, the ladder to the kingdom of Heaven and blessed glory!
You are Souse and Mother of the eternal King, the temple and sanctuary of the Holy Spirit; the altar of the Blessed Trinity.
You are the Mediatrix between Jesus Christ and men, the Advocate of the poor!
You are, after Jesus, our only hope, Mistress of the world, Queen of Heaven!
We bow to yo and salute you each day, O Mother of love!
Sweet and good Mary, in you we place all our hope, defend us for all eternity!
Amen.

Mary was in the mind of God from all eternity: "I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made." (Prov. 8:23).

"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel" (Gen. 3:15).

"Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel" (Isa. 7:14).

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root" (Isa. 11:1).

"I was exalted like a cedar in Lebanon, and as a cypress tree on Mount Sion. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho. As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted. I gave a sweet small like cinnamon, and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh" (Ecchlus. 24:17:20).

"Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of the pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heart in our land." (Cant. 2:10-12).

"In dangers, in sorrows and in doubts, think of Mary, invoke Mary; may her name never cease to be on our lips, may she never depart from our hearts." - St. Bernard

"Blessed ins the man th at heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord" (Prov. 8:34-35).

The Immaculate Virgin was chose from all eternity; from the very beginning the Most High saw her and prepared her fro Himself alone. She was prefigured by the Patriarchs, and announced by the Prophets. - St. Bernard



"O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol you as the purest, the fairest, the holiest creature of all God's handiwork. - St. Alphonsus di Liguori

Quotation source: Mary: Hope of the World by Rev. James Alberione, S.T.D., St. Paul Editions.
Last Reminder: Hour of Grace from noon to 1:00 PM today.

Novena for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception begins November 29th

by Murillo

Picture source

Novena Dates: November 29th to December 7th

Feast Day: December 8th

Source: EWTN's newsletter. Alternate novena also from EWTN can be found here

Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus,
and our Mother!
Filled with the most lively confidence in your all-powerful and never-failing intercession.
I, your loving and trusting child,
implore you to obtain for me the favor I earnestly ask,
if it is beneficial to my immortal soul
and the souls for whom I pray
(mention your intention)
Obtain for me a deep
hatred of sin and that purity of heart
which will unite me to God alone,
so that my every though, word and deed
may tend to His greater glory. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be).

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Immaculada Concepción con Colegiales by Francisco Zurbaran

Picture source

Venerable Brethren,
Health and the Apostolic Blessing.

An interval of a few months will again bring round that most happy day on which, fifty years ago, Our Predecessor Pius IX., Pontiff of holy memory, surrounded by a noble crown of Cardinals and Bishops, pronounced and promulgated with the authority of the infallible magisterium as a truth revealed by God that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was free from all stain of original sin. All the world knows the feelings with which the faithful of all the nations of the earth received this proclamation and the manifestations of public satisfaction and joy which greeted it, for truly there has not been in the memory of man any more universal or more harmonious expression of sentiment shown towards the august Mother of God or the Vicar of Jesus Christ...

AD DIEM ILLUM LAETISSIMUM
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS X ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Immaculada Concepción by
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Picture source
Prayer for a Holy Life

Virgin Immaculate,
Mother of God and my Mother,
from your throne in heaven
turn your merciful eyes upon me.
With full confidence in your goodness and power,
I beg you to help me in this journey of life,
which is strewn with dangers for my soul.

I entrust myself completely to you,
that I may never be the devil's slave through sin,
but may always live a unable and pure life.
I consecrate my heart to you forever,
since my sole desire is to love your divine Son Jesus.
O Mary,
since none of your devoted servants has ever perished,
let me too attain salvation.

Immaculada Concepción by Pedro Saenz

Picture source

You are all fair, O Mary;
the original stain is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem,
the joy of Israel,
the great honor of our people,
and the great advocate of sinners.
O Mary, Virgin most prudent,
Mother most merciful,
pray for us;
intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Immaculada Concepción by Antonio Cortina Farinós

Picture source

To the Immaculate Queen

O Virgin most pure, wholly unspotted,
O Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of the universe,
thou art above all the saints,
the hope of the elect a
and the joy of all the blessed.
It is thou who hast reconciled us with God;
thou art the only refuge of sinners and the safe
harbor of those who are shipwrecked;
thou art the consolation of the world,
the ransom of captives,
the health of the weak,
the joy of the afflicted,
and the salvation of all.
We have recourse to thee,
and we beseech thee to have pity on us.
Amen.

- Saint Ephrem the Syrian

The Immaculate Conception Patroness of the Redemporists

Picture source

Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God.

Picture source

By your Immaculate Conception,
O Mary,
make my body pure and my soul holy.

Picture source

O Mary,
who entered the world without stain of sin,
obtain for me from God
that I may leave it without sin.

Immaculada Concepción by Alonso Cano

Picture source

Virgin Mother,
you were never touched by any spot
of original or actual sin.
I commend and entrust to you the purity of my heart.

Immaculada Concepción

Picture source
Glorious things are told of thee,
O Mary,
for He who is mighty
hath done great things unto thee.
Alleluia

- Source The New Marian Missal for Daily Mass, 1956

Immaculada Concepción by Tiepolo Giambattista

Picture source

Prayer sources: Mew St. Joseph's People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing
The Prayer Book, Catholic Press

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Picture courtesy of Catholic Digital Images

The following is from St. Michael Center of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On December 8, the Catholic church celebrates the Solemnity of Immaculate
Conception of Mary- the patronal feast of the United States. It is one of the
few Holy days of obligation on the Church calendar -- that is, all Catholics are
obligated to attend Mass on this day. As this feast occurs early in Advent, it
is a perfect time to consider Mary and her important role in the celebration of
Christmas.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a solemn dogma declared
by Pope Pius IX in 1854 which proclaimed that Mary was conceived free from the
stain of original sin. This privilege of Mary derives from God's having chosen
her as Mother of the Savior; thus she received the benefits of salvation in
Christ from the very moment of her conception. This great gift to Mary, an
ordinary human being just like us, was fitting because she was destined to be
Mother of God. The purity and holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model for
all Christians.

Prayer on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

Father, You prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy mother of your Son. You let her share beforehand in the salvation Christ would bring by His death, and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Help us by her prayers to live in your presence without sin. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Bible Quote on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord (is) with thee.
- Luke 1:28

Quotable Quote on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”
- Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854.

Also, be sure to read "Why the Immaculate Conception?" by by The Rev. Paul Mankowski, S.J. by clicking HERE Thank you Sue for sharing this with me!

"Pure. Whole. Intact. Entire. Spotless. Stainless. Sinless. unsoiled. Unsullied. Unblemished. Uncorrupted. Immaculate!"

The following is from this article:

I live in an age, and a country, wherein the largest singe cause of death of infants under one year of age is homicide. I live at a time when, according to those who claim to know these things, Ronald McDonald has surpassed Jesus Christ in popularity among children. I live at a time when the best known moral theologians have despaired of leading people to a more virtuous life, but are principally concerned to insulate the sinner from the consequences of his sin; logic has give way to latex as the preferred medium of instruction. I live in a country where, this very day, in the time between my rising and my standing here before you, 4,000 of our fellow citizens, 4,000 human beings with an eternal destiny, were summarily killed by abortion. I live at a time when most promises will be broken, most vows will be repudiated, most marriages will fail. I live at a time when it is virtually impossible to go through a day without using some commodity which, however innocent in itself, is not hawked in terms of some base or venal allure. I am promised prosperous and intriguing companions by the folks who brew my beer; and those who sell my shaving cream are at pains to assure me that it will provoke the women I encounter into sexual frenzy. (The last claim, I might add, is an exaggeration.)...

It may seem pointless at such a time, in such a place, to hold up the Virgin Mary, and especially her Immaculate Conception, as a source of nourishment for our lives as Christians. For her perfection can appear so remote from the moral sweatiness and squalor in which our personal struggles occur that it recedes entirely into the background; it is swallowed up by our furious temptations and enthusiasms, and so is lost to us. This remoteness is widened, and not helped, by a way of speaking which would present the Virgin Mary to us as "the representation of an Ideal", that is, as an abstraction, or at best a personified Virtue, like the Roman goddesses of Wisdom or Moderation. Thus, she, who begins as a real flesh-and-blood woman, "a virgin, betrothed to a man named Joseph", as today's Gospel has it, becomes an the end an abstract noun, a figure of speech.