Do you know what day today is???

Let me share to you about the story of the Immaculate Conception..

HER NAME

When Bernadette Soubirous asked the beautiful lady who was appearing to her at Lourdes, France, in 1858, who she was, the lady answered, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

The Immaculate Conception – Mama Mary wanted us to remember God more than herself. The Immaculate Conception – this is what we celebrate today. On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, making this feast celebrated in the East since the 8th century a part of the article of faith of the Universal Church. The dogma states that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, in view of her unique vocation as mother of the Son of God, has been free from the stain of original sin.

The Immaculate Conception was because of the Divine Motherhood. It was God’s work just as her becoming the mother of His Son was purely God’s unique grace given her. We celebrate the Immaculate Conception to remember three things and so live by it.

First, the Immaculate Conception was the triumph of good over evil, of grace over sin. Eve, the first woman, though called “mother of all the living”, became the “mother of all the dead” because of her disobedience. God reversed the effect of Eve’s disobedience by the obedience of Mama Mary. The Immaculate Conception was God’s victory even before the ultimate battle on the cross was won by His Son.

Second, the Immaculate Conception affirmed that Mariology is a function of Christology. Her preservation from all sin had a definite orientation: her Divine Motherhood. She was given this unique privilege not for her own sake.

Third, the Immaculate Conception assured us that God supplies the grace needed for the vocation He calls us to. While it was true that she remained free as to what response she would give to God’s calling, Mama Mary was nonetheless readied, nurtured, and supported by God’s grace. Without it, she would not have responded to God’s calling the way she did. Without a prior grace from God, Mama Mary would not have been able to accept and fulfill her vocation.

“The Immaculate Conception” – this is the name of Mama Mary by which all generations call her “blessed”. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION: “Mary is blessed among all women because she conceived the Word in her heart before she conceived Him in her womb” (St. Augustine of Hippo).

“O Mary, conceived without original sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee” (Traditional Marian ejaculatory prayer).

adapted from Kerygma...