Feast Day of The Immaculate Conception

Holy Day Mass Times: 8 AM, 12:10 PM, and 7 PM

December 8 we celebrate the patronal solemnity of the United States and the greatest of Mary’s Advent festivals. On that day we remember Mary’s conception in the womb of her mother (and nine months later, on September 8, we celebrate Mary’s birth). In this liturgy, we affirm our belief that God prepared Mary to be the mother of the son of God by allowing her a share, from the moment of her conception, in the salvation that would be won for all by Christ.

Five mothers make their presence felt on December 8. The first is Eve, the mother of all the living. The second is Mary’s mother, who conceived, brought to birth, and nurtured an “immaculate” daughter who would become the mother of the Word made Flesh. The third is Elizabeth, who conceived her son John “in her old age.” The fourth, of course, is Mary herself. Finally, the letter to the Ephesians and the texts of the Mass for this feast remind us that the Church has been “chosen” to be a spiritual mother. We pray: “The image of the Virgin is found in your Church . . . Trace in our actions the lines of her love, in our hearts her readiness of faith.”

In this Advent time, we are called, as Mary was, to make room for Christ in our hearts. What will it take, what will be the cost for us to become, as Mary became, real “bearers of the Word?” Let us be open to the intercession of Mary on our behalf, that we may become more and more like her beloved Son.