Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Today is a Holy Day of Obligation for US Catholics. We celebrate the mystery of Our Blessed Mother’s conception. Through God’s grace, she was conceived without Original Sin. Please listen to Father Augustine’s Homily today, when you have a few moments. Nothing is impossible with God!
As we celebrate the Immaculate Conception today, think of the joy St. Anne must have experienced. The same joy many of us have felt at carrying a child within our womb, the same joy mothers have experienced in waiting for a child they’d chosen with God’s guiding hand. Her anticipation must have been great. I can imagine St. Anne dreaming of the small child whom she would gaze upon with love just a few months later. How long those months seem! How amazing to watch her womb grow with that precious life within her; how exhilarating to feel Mary stir, her movements growing stronger every day.
According to our tradition, based upon an apocryphal text by James, Joachim and Anne were childless. They were grieved at being infertile and cried out to the Lord to give them a child. The Angel came to Anne and said “Hannah, the Lord has looked upon thy tears; thou shalt conceive and give birth and the fruit of thy womb shall be blessed by all the world” (citation from New Advent Catholic Encyclopaedia). What a joy for St. Anne to carry the babe who would one day become mother of us all. They promised to dedicate Mary to the service of God. In the same text, we read that Joachim and Anne were a wealthy couple. How much more powerful then, is it to imagine that their Grandson, the King of Kings, should be born in a lowly stable some 16 years later?
Our family recently had the priviledge to view a very rare, very large collection of relics - 188 all tolled - including two pieces of the True Cross and all 12 Apostles. In the centre of this amazing collection was a tubular reliquary containing what looked to be a finger bone of St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. It made an enormous impression on all of us. The relics are in the care of our friend, Father James Mazzone who is the pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Worcester, MA.
IMMACULATE MARY
Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing;
Who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
In heaven, the blessed thy glory proclaim;
On earth we, thy children, invoke thy fair name.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
We pray for God’s glory; may His kingdom come;
We pray for His vicar, our father, and Rome.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,
And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
What a wonderful day to celebrate the omnipotence of God! Only He could have created Mary free from original sin, just as surely as He can turn ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ! It is a great mystery to us who are bound by Word, tradition and sacrament. What a gift He has given us, what graces, and what opportunities for sanctification so that we may know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life and so that we may be happy with Him forever in Heaven! In affirming this mysterious feast we are proclaiming our belief in the power of God.
December 8th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Hi Nissa…
Not being Catholic, I have never heard this: “Through God’s grace, she was conceived without Original Sin.” I’m curious where that comes from? You can email me privately if you like. Not nit-picking, just sincerely curious.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I’m neither a Catholic nor a Christian, but your blog is wonderful… we’re new to homeschooling, and have the combined challenge/opportunity of homeschooling a son with mild autism and trying to manage two businesses around homeschool time (videography and writing).
We haven’t quite gotten past the “which math curriculum” part of the process - but we DID move from Philadelphia to Cape Cod - just 1/2 mile from Buzzard’s Bay - so that we could be in a place where homeschooling, kids (we have two - a typically developing 8 year old daughter still in public school) and lives could come together with more of a focus on the natural world.
thanks so much for your offerings!
Lisa