Posted on December 8, 2014 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
As we continue our Advent Season, we take a pause tomorrow to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Defined in 1854, this is the dogma that declared from the very moment of her conception, Mary was preserved from the stain of all sin. Already by 1846, nearly ten years before the definition, the Bishops of the United States chose Our Lady, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, to be the patroness of the United States. Held implicitly from the beginning of the Church, the Catholic Faithful from around the world asked Bl. Pope Pius IX to make this infallible definition.
Oddly enough, the Dominicans, often seen as a very Marian Religious Order, initially opposed this dogma, with St. Thomas Aquinas openly questioning the Immaculate Conception. It was rather the Franciscans, led by Bl. John Duns Scotus, who pushed for and came up with the theological explanation for the definition. When Our Lady appeared at Lourdes in 1858, she declared herself to be the Immaculate Conception, making clear to all Heaven’s approval of the definition.
The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, though an extraordinary gift given exclusively to Our Lady, teaches us that we all can say no sin and yes to God. None of us is left to his/her animal instincts, with little control over what we do. If we follow after Our Lady’s example, of always humbly and faithfully saying yes to God, we too have the ability to allow God
to do great things through us. May this Feast inspire us to greater faithfulness to God, taking Mary as our model, our mother, and our Queen.
Finally, I am happy to report that the new Old St. Mary’s webpage is finally complete. Please visit us at www.oldstmarys.org. We will make sure that the webpage is always updated with the latest news and information. Make sure to visit often. You can also add us on Facebook and Twitter to receive these same updates. There are still a few things on the webpage to adjust or move around, but in essence, it is complete. Fiat Insight out of Virginia updated the webpage for us. Fiat was founded by a classmate of mine from my days at the Pontifical College Josephinum. Thank you to everyone who helped me in getting our webpage updated.
Have a blessed week ahead!
