In Catholic tradition, December is the first month of the Liturgical year, it is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. We begin the year in anticipation of the coming of the Christ Child, pondering all that His birth signifies. Sacred Scripture in Isaiah 7:14 tells us that the sign of the coming of the Savior is the Virgin. This Virgin is the Mother of God and the Ark of the New Covenant. As we consider the Blessed Virgin Mary and what manner of creature she must be who carried God in her womb, we are moved to love and venerate her as the Immaculate.
A common misconception is that "Immaculate Conception" refers to Jesus' conception. The moment when Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb is called the Incarnation.
"Immaculate Conception" refers to the fact that Mary was free from original sin from the moment of her conception. She always was, and remained throughout her life, perfectly pure and stainless.
She's the living embodiment of what we all strive for: perfect obedience to God, complete union with God, and stainless purity. Thus, we can't go wrong following her example.
We do a great honor to Mary when we acknowledge her as the Immaculate Conception and celebrate her sanctity.
Did Mary Need a Redeemer? This is one discussion where many people get the wrong idea of Mary.
Jesus died on the Cross to redeem all of humanity from sin. But if Mary was conceived without original sin, how did Jesus redeem her? Did she need to be saved?
The Catholic Handbook explains best:
The Immaculate Conception was made possible through the merits of Christ’s future death and resurrection. God applied the grace of Jesus’ redemptive act to Mary at the moment of her conception, preserving her from original sin.
Without Jesus, Mary's sinlessness wouldn't have been possible. He spared her from sin from the moment of conception because He had a monumental purpose for her.
Mary was saved more perfectly by being preserved from falling into sin rather than cleansed from it.
Mary didn't need to be sinless for the Incarnation to take place, but it certainly best befitted the Savior of the world to lie in a virgin womb.
Why wait until the start of the new year to renew our vigor and zeal? Meditating on Mary's purity leads us to contemplating Jesus' birth, making it a great way to make a holy Advent and prepare for Christmas.
Know that, if you faithfully honor the devotion to the Immaculate Conception this month, Our Lady will be extremely pleased and will, in turn, intercede for you.
May the Immaculate Conception inspire us to purity, obedience, and living out our vocations. Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
“Look My daughter, at My Heart, surrounded by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, try to console Me by announcing in My name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company in prayer for fifteen minutes."
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