The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The meaning of the celebration

+ On this day, the Church meditates on the great mystery that, from the moment of her conception, the Virgin Mary was preserved from every stain of original sin.

+ Based on the teachings of great saints and theologians through the centuries, especially Blessed John Duns Scotus, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854.

+ It is under her title of “Immaculate Conception” that Mary is honored as the patron of the United States of America.

For prayer and reflection

" Let us ask Our Lady for a grace: that she may free us from the misleading idea that the Gospel is one thing and life is another; that she kindle our enthusiasm for the ideal of holiness which is not a matter of holy cards and images, but is about living what happens each day, humbly and joyfully, like Our Lady, free from ourselves, with our eyes fixed on God and the neighbour we meet."—Pope Francis

Spiritual Bonus

On December 8, we also remember Blessed Alojzy Liguda. A priest in the Society of the Divine Word (Divine Word Missionaries), he had hoped to be a missionary in China. However, his community assigned him to serve as rector of their seminary in Górna Grupa, Poland. After the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, the seminary was converted into a prison camp for priests. On February 5, 1940, he was sent to the concentration camp at Dachau. After enduring more than two years of abuse and neglect, he was killed by drowning on December 8. Blessed Alojzy was beatified with other Polish martyrs of World War II in 1999.

Vocations

For women:

The Benedictine Sisters of Monastery Immaculate Conception (Ferdinand, IN): www.thedome.org

The Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception: www.crossfire.org/daughtersofmary

The Dominican Sisters of Immaculate Conception Province: www.sistersop.com

The Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception: www.confhic.org

The Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception: www.lsic.us

The Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception: www.mficusa.org

The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God: www.smic-missionarysisters.org

The Passionist Nuns of Immaculate Conception Monastery (Ellisville, MO): www.passionistnunsofstlouis.org

The Poor Clares of the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception (Palos Park, IL): www.chicagopoorclares.org

The Sisters of Christian Charity: www.scceast.org

The Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception: www.westpeoriasisters.org

The Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate: www.ssmi-us.org

For Men:

The Benedictine Monks of Conception Abbey (Conception, MO): www.conceptionabbey.org

The Marians of the Immaculate Conception: www.marian.org

Prayer

O God,
who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son,
grant, we pray, that as you preserved her from every stain
by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw,
so, through her intercession,
we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.