Word to the Wise
Monday, December 9, 2024 - Dec. 8: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (transferred to Monday 12/9 if 12/8 is a Sunday of Advent )
[Gen 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38]In him [Christ] we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. [Ephesians] "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you......for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." [Luke]
DECEMBER 9 [transferred this year] THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The dogma of the immaculate conception of Mary was declared a part of the faith of the Church in 1854! It took a long time to reach that point of declaration, but the belief had been around in theological reflection from at least the 7th century. It does not refer to Mary's virginity but to her status as a human person subject to original sin. The thinking was that Mary's exceptional status as the virgin mother of Christ must have meant that she was also exempt from the human inheritance of original sin. "For nothing will be impossible for God."
The feast of the Immaculate Conception is a holy day of obligation in the USA because Mary is honored as the patroness of the Catholic church in the USA. But, in a few days, we will celebrate another honor for Mary as "patroness of all the Americas," [declared by Pope St. John Paul II] on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe And on January 1st, the church celebrates her as "Mother of God." All of these titles reflect the veneration Catholic faith has for Mary, but at all times it must be remembered that she has all this favor because of her Son whose birth is "the reason for the season" of Advent. She is the most important member of the "Communion of Saints" to which we are all called by virtue of our baptism. Today, we recognize her exceptional status in God's plan of salvation. AMEN
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