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Reflection: Immaculate Conception

Before giving us the gift of Himself through His Incarnation, God gave us the gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We cannot conceive the magnitude of the gift of the life and maternal role of Our lady in the history of salvation and in each of our lives. This Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, however, gives us a glimpse into God’s unfathomable love for us through His creation of His greatest masterpiece: His Mother.

The Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of the Blessed Mother in St. Anne’s womb. When Our Lady was formed in Her mother’s womb, God preserved Her from original sin, meaning the stain of sin, the inclination to sin, and the corruption caused by sin. Unlike every other person except Jesus Christ, Our Lady never committed a sin and never desired to sin. Unlike Christ, however, Our Blessed Mother is not divine: She is human just like each of us. In this way, united to God in His purity and united to us in our human fragility, Our Beloved Heavenly Mother is our special link to Heaven. Even more, She is our Mother Who loves, protects, and intercedes for each of us as Her own child.

On November 27, 1830, Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Laboure in France, and instructed her to have struck what is known today as the Miraculous Medal. On this medal is the image of Mary with Her arms outstretched and rays of grace emanating from Her hands—graces that God wants to give us.

She is surrounded by the words “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.” The miraculous medal came to be known as such because of the miraculous manner in which those who wore it as a sign of their devotion to Our Lady and prayed the Immaculate Conception prayer were healed from disease or protected from troubles.

The entire world and the Church are passing through unprecedentedly difficult times that call for the extraordinary protection and intercession of Our Lady and Immaculate Mother. I would like to invite you all on this beautiful solemnity to begin, renew, and increase your devotion to Mary and seek Her loving and maternal intercession. If possible, even obtain a miraculous medal and wear it (I would be happy to bless it for you) as a sign of your devotion and entrustment to the Mother of God. As Our Lady promised: “Those who wear [the medal] will receive great graces.” Why? Because our Immaculate Mother—God’s masterpiece and gift to the Church—loves each of us dearly and tenderly, wishes to protect us from spiritual and temporal harm, and longs to pour out innumerable and unimaginable graces on us. As Our Lady once said to one of St. John Vianney’s parishioners, who witnessed Her appear to the holy priest: “You will always be my child, and I will always be your mother.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Yours in Christ,
Father Arthur

Readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Lectionary 689