The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast: December 8. In 1854 Pope Pius IX defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. He stated, "The doctrine which holds that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin in the first instant of her conception by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God . . . has been revealed by God and must therefore be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful." Four years later, in 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, a fourteen- year-old girl living near Lourdes in southern France, went out to gather firewood for her family. While walking near a grotto, she experienced a vision of a young woman dressed in white and holding a rosary. Later, during another apparition of the young woman in white, Bernadette asked her very simply, "Who are you?" She answered, "I am the Immaculate Conception." The doctrine of Mary's total freedom from sin has meaning and inspiration for our life today. Mary was preserved from original sin from the first instant of her conception. Satan never possessed any power or influence over her. She was subject to our human weaknesses -- fatigue, sickness, suffering, even death. But what the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews said of Jesus we can say of her: she is "one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet [is] without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Mary is the spotless, immaculate, sinless one. We stand in reverent awe for what God has worked so mightily and singularly in her life. Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, is the Patron saint of the United States.

Mary's freedom from sin does not separate her from other human beings. Instead, it makes it possible for her to reach out to everyone. How does sin put up barriers between people? Are there any such barriers in your life, perhaps put up by hatred, desire for revenge, or pride? Today, try to break down one of these barriers to reach out to someone else.

Mary, you are favored by God. Help us to see how favored we are. You experienced God's grace from the first moment of your existence, and so do we. You are a reflection of God's beauty, glory, and love, and so are we. The ground of your being is God, and so is ours. You, because of your hiddenness and nothingness, became a great servant of God. Pray for us, so, in our hiddenness and nothingness, we can also serve God. Amen.

With grateful thanks to Catholic Online.