Dear Parishioners,

This upcoming Thursday is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. It is a Holy Day of Obligation which means all Catholics are required to attend Mass that day. The Mass schedule is 5:30 pm (vigil), 7 am, 9 am, 12:10 pm and 7 pm.

When we say Immaculate Conception, we are re- ferring to the fact that Mary was conceived without the stain of Original Sin. Many people are confused on this point and think that we are talking about the conception of Our Lord Jesus Christ. You can tell that Immaculate Conception refers to Mary though because it literally means “without stain”. Mary is special because she is without the stain of sin, unlike the rest of us. Because Jesus is God, we call His conception the Incarnation, which means that God is coming “in the flesh”. That is what is unique about His conception.

I think part of the confusion on this point is that the reading for this Solemnity talks about the angel visiting the Virgin Mary and announcing the conception of her Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. It also might be confusing because most other Christian denominations do not believe Mary was conceived without Original Sin. That is all the more reason for us Catholics to know the difference and share our faith. We should be moving the world, not moved by the world.

So, why do we believe Mary was Immaculately Conceived? First, it is the fulfilment of the prophecy given in Gen 3:15 that there would be enmity between the woman and the serpent. By being immaculate, Mary is completely outside Satan’s grasp and he hates her for it. Secondly, in Luke 1:28, she is called “full of grace”. This is a term that means that she was grace-filled from the first moment of her existence, not from conceiving her Son or being in the presence of an angel. Third, it is the dogmatic teaching of the Church which Jesus has granted the authority to teaching authentically and hand on the Christian message.

Being Immaculately conceived does not mean she is equal to God, just that she starts out in the state of our first parents, Adam and Eve. It also does not mean that Christ is not her Savior. It is more like she is being saved by sin by being preserved from it instead of being purified later. This is all because of the grace of her Son, applied outside of time.

God bless!

Fr. Carter