On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception let us ponder on these words about Mary, our Mother and ask her and her Son Jesus Christ to come into our lives and help us in all our situations of daily life.
"I am the Immaculate Conception," thus Mary, the Mother of God, declared to Bernadette Soubirous after the child repeatedly asked the vision "Madame, will you have the goodness to tell me who you are?" This happened at the Grotto in Lourdes, France on March 25, 1858. It was not a coincidence that it was also the Feast of the Annunciation of Mary.
Bernadette knew that those words had something to do with Our Lady, but she did not know what they meant. And like her, it may seemed strange to many people during that time that Mary should have chosen that name during her last apparition at Lourdes even though the dogma had just been defined by the Church four years earlier. The fact is, Mary's declaration is a heavenly confirmation of the dogma. But there is so much more to the selection of that title.
The Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus on December 8, 1854. It defines that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved and exempt from all stain of original sin."
Everything in Mary was influenced by this great grace and privilege of being preserved from original sin. She is freed from all the evil influences that flow from that sin, and Mary is unique among us all in her perfection, whether natural or supernatural.
The privilege of the Immaculate Conception is very intimately associated with her divine maternity, which in turn is closely associated with her being mother to us all.
Mary's love is pure. And thus, her heart is pure. Or referred to as the Immaculate Heart. From the beginning of her human existence, Mary's heart was humanly perfect as can be, and spiritually full of grace as possible. The Immaculate Heart, as a result of the Immaculate Conception, was strong and never stained by any imperfections or sins. All these so that Mary will be a worthy Mother of Jesus and Mother of all mankind.
As our Blessed Mother, Mary takes us into her heart in a very special way and fully exercises her motherly love over us.
May we all always turn to Mary, our Mother and say that prayer inscribed on the Miraculous Medal, imploring her protection and saluting her Immaculate Conception. It was in 1830 when Mary appeared to Catherine Laboure, a Daughter of Charity, & in the vision, words written in gold were formed in a semi-circle beginning at the right hand of Mary, going over her head, and ending at the height of the left hand. This prayer was some 24 years before the Immaculate Conception was defined as a dogma: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
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