Mary's Men

December 8 is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a great feast dedicated to proclaiming the truth of one of the Blessed Mother's unique privileges. In his 1854 apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, offered the following definition of this dogma of the Catholic faith:

We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.


Several of our Marian men in formation, on their way to becoming perpetually professed Marian priests and brothers, shared their thoughts on this important day.

Br. David, MIC

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a true reminder of the power of God's grace. God gave the Blessed Mother the grace of the Immaculate Conception. God also fills us with the grace to do His Will. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception reminds me how the Blessed Virgin Mary cooperated with the grace that God gave to her. She is a true example of how to love God and neighbor, and she helps me to realize how I should follow her example in living a life of virtue and faith in Jesus Christ.

Fr. David, MIC

The Immaculate Conception is the preeminent doctrine of Our Lady. The Immaculate Conception makes all the other teachings possible; that Our Lady could be the Mother of God, her perpetual virginity (before, during, and after the birth of Christ), her Assumption into Heaven, and in a very special way that she could become Mediatrix of All Grace, Co-redemptrix, and Advocate. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, therefore, reminds me of the love God has for humanity. The purity of Our Lady enables God to pour out all His love, His grace, and His mercy into Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. He does not hold back His love. In this way we come to know how much love God has for all of us. If we would stop sinning, let go of our attachments, and allow ourselves to be purified, He would fill us with His love as well. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is all about God's love for humanity.

Br. Tyler, MIC
This holy Solemnity is a singular highlight of my year. To me, it speaks of God's infinitely tender mercy in that He Himself chose to bless Mary in such a way that He preserved her from every stain and infection and pollution of sin on absolutely no merit of hers! Wow! That is intense mercy, showing that it is not sin that has the final victory, but on the contrary, it is God's merciful love for His children that is the final and enduring Word of victory.

Yes, all this is true for our beloved mother in the order of grace and the Spirit, but it does not stop with just her. This precious gift of immaculateness is not just meant for Mary, but for all her (and God's) children. We are sharers in this gift inasmuch as we lovingly ask for her intercession - most especially in the Rosary - and strive to imitate her in our everyday life, which we can do in a most special way when we consecrate ourselves to her and give her full permission to transform us into the saints that God created us to be.

The Immaculate Conception: a gift for Mary; a gift also for us; her joy is also our joy. As a Marian of the Immaculate Conception, with our religious identity being especially rooted in this holy mystery, it is with the greatest joy that I celebrate this holy feast that so fittingly focuses our attention on the immaculate, sinless one, who has both given us Jesus, our Redeemer, and who also brings Him to birth in our souls when we draw near to her and seek to ponder and imitate her immaculate, all-pure intimacy with God.

Br. Stephen, MIC
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception didn't mean that much to me growing up ... it was just another Marian feast day. I think the turning point came when I encountered Marian consecration in Fr. Gaitley's book. I came to see Mary more as a real person after that consecration, and that affected my entire perception of and relationship to the Church, especially in the Sacraments. My call to the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception made me realize I would be getting to know Mary better under this Order, but it wasn't until late in my novitiate year that I looked through my old notebooks and realized that I had made my consecration on Dec. 8, the Feast of Mary's Immaculate Conception, a consecration that was really the starting-point for much of my spiritual life.

I also recall two particular passages from St. Faustina's Diary about the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In the first, Faustina resolves to pray 1000 Hail Marys every day as a novena in preparation for this feast (Diary, 1413). In the second, Mary reveals to Sr. Faustina "the three virtues that are dearest to me - and most pleasing to God," which are: humility, purity, and love of God (Diary, 1415). In these three virtues could be summed up much of the spiritual life, but they also exemplify Our Blessed Mother. To adequately understand and practice them, especially as revealed in the Immaculate Conception, eternity alone will be enough.

Deacon Gabriel, MIC
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception reminds me of the great love of the Mother of God for us because of the great love and mercy that God first had upon her for our sake. It gives me more reason to hope in God because of how great He could make a person in holiness and keep her sustained in perfect holiness. If God is able to do that in a broken world out of love, then how much we can hope in God whose love saves and knows no bounds because He is the God of Mercy! If we give Him our trust, we can be in full communion with the God of love.

Br. Marx, MIC
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception reminds me of God's great love for all humanity. In our Blessed Mother, immaculately conceived, we see God's omnipotence and mercy for us sinners.

Br. Matthew, MIC
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a very beautiful and grand day for the Marian Fathers since we are celebrating the patroness of our Order. It especially reminds me that not only have we Christians been given such an immaculately beautiful mother and queen to cover us with her mantle from all temptations to the stain of sin, but that we, too, with the grace of God, can hope to be pure and immaculate like Mary in Heaven.

Br. Jeff, MIC
The Immaculate Conception is the beginning of the victory of Christ over sin. In Christ's mother, the Holy Spirit inhabited a soul with immaculate purity and exalted her being beyond that of the seraphic angels. This soul as conceived and born nine months later represents perfection, purity, and the highest human ideal embodied in a person. She is the Immaculate One - from her being she became a temple of God in her soul. As a temple, she would conceive a God to become his Mother. What this means to me is that she will bring her spouse - the Holy Spirit - to one day crush all the evil in the world and inaugurate the reign of God on earth: She is the first and last Pentecost and terror to hell.

mbk

You might also like...

When was the earliest recorded Marian apparition? Which Marian apparition should people know more about? Was Russia actually consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Apparition expert Michael O'Neill explains.
How does the Church decide if a purported Marian apparition is inauthentic? What does it mean for the Church when a Marian apparition is deemed authentic?
On Saturday, Aug. 3, the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy hosted the annual Encuentro Latino festival. Find out how this annual festival testifies to the power of Divine Mercy and the intercession of Our Lady.