Read the Importance of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Our Catholic Life for the 2017 Reflection on this Marian Feast.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary this year is very special to me: It is the 19th Anniversary of the first time I received Jesus, through my First Communion (December 8, 1997).
It is a holy day of obligation to go to Mass today. The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma that Mary, the Mother of God, was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without all the stain of original sin. This means that Mary was free from any inclinations to sin, that plagued all of us human beings from the fall of Adam and Eve. The Church likewise holds that through the grace of God, she never had any personal sin throughout her life. Thus, from the very first moment of her existence, her conception, she was already in a state of sanctifying grace, and therefore keeping her ‘Immaculate’.
Some mistakenly think that “immaculate conception” refers to Mary being conceived “by the power of the Holy Spirit” like Jesus, but it’s not, because her conception was not virginal; she both had a biological mother and a father, St. Joachim. They can’t be found in the Bible, but we know through Sacred Tradition. That is why the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th of December, exactly nine months before the Feast of the Nativity of Mary on the 8th of September.
Mary says, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” in Luke 1:47 (see my post on Magnificat). Other sects argue that she sinned because she said that she had a Savior and only a sinner would need a Savior. Mary was indeed saved by the Savior, but in a way that she was prevented or saved from all sin, including the original sin. One popular analogy that Catholics have used for ages to illustrate how Mary is saved by the Savior while remaining Immaculate. Suppose there’s a man who falls in a deep muddy pit. Someone comes and reaches to pull him out. That man, now stained in mud, has been “saved” from the pit. This time, think of a woman walking along and is about to topple too into the deep pit. But right at the very moment that she is to fall, someone reaches to hold her back, preventing it from happening. She too has been “saved” but in a much better way. She is not simply brought out of the pit. She is prevented from being covered in mud and remained unstained. Such is the redemption of Mary in a special way by the grace of God- by anticipation.
Through God’s power, she was protected from all sins through the foreseen merits of Jesus. Let us remember, Jesus is not bound by time, “He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him.” (John 1:2-3) Even Jesus redeemed us in the ‘future’ in the sense that’s our human time, with God, there isn’t such thing as the future, because He doesn’t have past and future, as Jesus is eternal, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8) – His merits on the Cross gave to Mary the grace of being prevented to fall into original sin and sins, in anticipation of His saving work.
The Bible indicating of the Immaculate Conception:
Luke 1:28: And he came to her and said, “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”
Luke 1:42: and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the dogma:
490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: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.
493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia), and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature”. By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long. “Let it be done to me according to your word. . .”
Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. Just a little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to a sickly poor girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous (canonized on December 8, 1933 by the same Pope). This started a series of visions. Only during the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The authorities of the Roman Catholic Church, verified the authenticity of the apparitions in 1862: “We judge that Mary the Immaculate, Mother of God, did truly appear to Bernadette Soubirous on 11 February 1858, and on subsequent days, to the number of 18 times in all, in the grotto of Massabielle, near the town of Lourdes.” – Bishop of Tardes. Our Blessed Mother, Virgin Mary herself revealed The Immaculate Conception dogma as true.
Mama Mary, pray for us!
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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