Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving is a civil holiday, not a religious holiday, it is a good reminder to take a step back and thank God for the gifts he has given us over the past year.

During this time of year, while many of us celebrate, there are also many people who do not. Since I’ve been ordained a priest, I’ve learned that there are many people who suffer during this time of year. They are reminded of their loved ones who have died, or of their families separated by infighting or divorce, or that circumstances beyond their control have made them very alone. For many of these folks, the joy of the season is a further cross to bear. Keep these people in your prayers.

Immaculate Conception - Background

On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate Mary’s conception. Many people get this feast mixed up with the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on March 25. This is quite understandable, actually, because the Gospel that we read on both feast days is the Annunciation from the Gospel of Luke. If you find yourself getting confused, the easiest way to remember is to ask yourself, “Whose birthday is in 9 months?” Mary’s nativity is celebrated September 8, nine months after the Immaculate Conception. Jesus’s Nativity is celebrated on December 25, nine months after the Annunciation.

On this feast day, we celebrate the teaching “that the most blessed Virgin Mary was in the first instant of her Conception preserved, by a special privilege granted unto her by God, from any stain of original sin.” Pope Pius IX decreed that this doctrine of the faith, which was held consistently in the Church for many centuries, was to be firmly held and believed by every Christian.

Our Blessed Mother’s triumph over evil is foretold in Genesis, when God told the serpent that she would strike at the serpent’s head, while the serpent struck at her heels. (There is some debate whether it’s a she or a he in the ancient texts, which means that it is unclear whether Mary or Jesus is being prophesied the destroy the serpent. I believe the best answer is simple, it’s both.) The serpent never had claim over the Blessed Mother, as he does over all of us who suffer the effects of original sin. We speak sometimes of a “new Eve” and a “new Adam” when we speak of Mary and her son Jesus. Unlike any other humans, these four were born without the stain of original sin, and these four lived humanity more fully than we can ever comprehend on this side of eternity. The first Adam and Eve failed. They fell into sin and took all of humanity, for whom they spoke as our first parents, with them. The new Adam and the new Eve, Jesus and Mary, did not fall into this trap. Jesus, being the Son of God, never turned his love away from his Father. Mary, the mother of Jesus, never allowed her love to turn away from her Son. They now lead the children of God back to the new Eden that is Heaven, because in the Kingdom of God sin has been conquered by the powerful love of God.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary reminds us, ultimately, of where we are going: Heaven. And it reminds us that we must follow the example of Mary in loving God every moment of her life, so that her son Jesus might bring us to his and our Father.

Immaculate Conception - Celebration & Holy Day

The Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation. Normally, it is celebrated on December 8. Because Our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States of America, this Holy Day is always celebrated. This year it is celebrated on Monday, December 9, due to the fact that Advent Sundays must always be celebrated.

All Catholics must attend Mass for the Immaculate Conception. This may be done by attending a Mass in the evening on Sunday or some time on Monday. Catholics must also attend Mass for Sunday. Attending Sunday evening only fulfills one obligation: you don’t get a 2-for-1 that way. (Read Acts 5:1-11 to see what happens when Ananias and Sapphira tried to pull one over on God…) Anything between 4pm on December 7 and midnight on December 8 fulfills the Sunday; anything between 4pm on December 8 and midnight December 9 fulfills the Immaculate Conception.