What do we celebrate on 8 December?
Many people think the Immaculate Conception is about the birth of Jesus. It isn't.
It's a very common confusion: thinking that the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus being conceived without the intervention of a man. That's another truth of faith. The Immaculate Conception is about Mary: God preserved her from all sin, including original sin, from the first instant of her existence.
Why? Because she was going to be the Mother of God, and God wanted his mother never to be under sin. She too was saved by Christ, but in advance: God applied his merits to her ahead of time. Pope Pius IX defined it as a dogma on 8 December 1854.
In the middle of Advent, this feast shows how God prepares important things: with time and with delicacy. And it reminds us of what he wants to do in you too: fill you with his grace.
Key idea
The Immaculate Conception celebrates that Mary was preserved from all sin from the first instant.
Your challenge for this idea
Today, explain to someone, in your own words, what the Immaculate Conception means.
BASED ON
The Immaculate →