Thanksgiving is over, and now we continue our journey towards Christmas. As part of our journey toward Christmas, this week we will celebrate the Immaculate Conception. This is the conception of Mary in her mother Ann’s womb. By Prevenient Grace, Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb without the affects of Original Sin. Like Adam and Eve, Mary did not have Original Sin when she was made. Unlike Adam and Eve, Mary never sinned, so Mary was, and is, pure and spotless which means she near once hurt God nor strayed from living in the Divine Will. She was perfect in every way. And we know the rest of the story because it leads to Christmas and Easter, or as I like to say from the womb until the tomb. Mary’s conception is very important for us because she is the vessel that our Savior is born through, and since He was spotless too, He was to be born through a woman who had not sinned. That is why we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
The Schedule for the Immaculate Conception, which is a Holy Day of Obligation, is as follows:
Thursday, December 8:
9:00am Mass at OLS
4:00pm Mass at STC
7:00pm Mass at STM
Come and celebrate this beautiful gift of Mary’s Conception. Come and celebrate the gift of the Mother of God. Come and prepare our hearts for Christmas.
By the way, this week we celebrate on Tuesday, December 6, St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus. I mention this because he was a real person even though in modern times he has been exploited, and his legend has been exaggerated. I like St. Nicholas, and I like to talk about him and celebrate his day. I avoid the other name for him because it is a legend.
Fr. Thomas P. Galarneault