J.M.J.
Advent Meditations 2020
Second
Sunday of Advent, December 6th. The days of Advent march along . .
. but not without much fruit, including that of conversion. Conversion to
Christ is our lofty goal, inspired by the Holy Spirit. [Ask God, by praying the
Our Father, to bless Pope Francis and Bishop DeGrood.]
Saint
Ambrose, Monday, December 7th. Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor
of the Church, was a striking combination of piety and scholarship. He prayed
and studied. His example stirs us to do likewise. [Read Saint Luke 1:26-38 and
marvel at God.]
The
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, December 8th. Our Lady is,
according to William Wordsworth, “Our nature’s solitary boast.” She is the most perfect human person, thanks to the privilege of her Immaculate
Conception. [Pray the Memorare for those suffering in
Purgatory.]
Saint
Juan Diego, Wednesday, December 9th. At Guadalupe in
1531, the Ever-Virgin asked Juan, an unlettered peasant: “Am I not here
who am your Mother?
Are you not under
my shadow and protection?” Let us have more trust in the Hearts of JESUS
and MARY. [Reach out to someone in need.]
Our
Lady of Loreto, Thursday, December 10th. The Holy House of
Loreto located on the eastern coast of Italy has long been honored as the House
where Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived. Let
us thanks God for our homes! [Pray the Angel of God for those without lodging.]
Saint
Damasus, Friday, December 11th. Saint Damasus, Pope, personally
venerated the Martyrs and taught his flock to do the same. How many Martyrs can
we name? [Abstain from meat or something that you can live without.]
Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Saturday, December 12th. Our Lady appeared
at Guadalupe as a pregnant woman. What
can we do to assist those considering abortion? [Offer the Most Holy Rosary for parents and children.]
The Dogma of the
Immaculate Conception
On September 8, 1953, Pope Venerable Pius XII (1939-1958) issued his
Encyclical Fulgens Corona (On the Marian Year and the Dogma of the
Immaculate Conception). The Holy Father’s letter not only anticipated the
upcoming Marian Year (December 8, 1953-December 8, 1954) but also commemorated
the first centenary of the solemn definition by Pope Blessed Pius IX
(1846-1878) on December 8, 1854 of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Each year on December 8th, the Church liturgically celebrates
this dogma of the Catholic Faith. Might we learn something from the teaching of
Pope Pius XII?
The “foundation” of the dogma is located in Genesis 3:15 (“I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed”) and
Saint Luke 1:28 (“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”). The Vicar of
Christ contended that “if at any time the Blessed Mary were destitute of Divine
grace even for the briefest moment, because of contamination in her conception
by the hereditary stain of sin, there would not have come between her and the
serpent that perpetual enmity spoken of from earliest tradition down to the
time of the solemn definition of the Immaculate Conception, but rather a
certain subjection.” (7)
It is no wonder, then, that because of their acceptance of this doctrine,
the Fathers of the Church lavished praise upon the Ever-Virgin, using an array
of vivid and informative titles to describe the sinless Mother of God: “Lily
Among Thorns; Land Wholly Intact; Immaculate; Always Blessed; Free From All
Contagion Of Sin; Unfading Tree; Fountain Ever Clear; The One And Only Daughter
Not Of Death But Of Life; Offspring Not Of Wrath But Of Grace; Unimpaired And
Ever Unimpaired; Holy And Stranger To All Stain Of Sin; More Comely Than
Comeliness Itself; More Holy Than Sanctity; Alone, Holy Who, Excepting God, Is
Higher Than All; By Nature More Beautiful, More Graceful And More Holy Than The
Cherubim And Seraphim Themselves And The Whole Hosts Of Angels.” (9)
It only seems right and just that the Savior of the universe would have for
His Mother one who was entirely pure and devoid of sin. Jesus “really redeemed
His Mother, since it was by virtue of His merits that she was preserved by God
immune from all stain of Original Sin.” (14)
True devotion to Mary takes away nothing from the adoration we owe to the
Most Blessed Trinity. Rather, “any honor and veneration which we may give to
our Heavenly Mother undoubtedly rebounds to the glory of her Divine Son, not
only because all graces and all gifts, even the highest, flow from Him as from
their primary source, but also because ‘The glory of children are their
fathers’ [Book of Proverbs, XVII 6].”
(15)
As Our Blessed Lady told Saint Marie Bernardette Soubirous (1844-1879)
within the cave at Massabielle near Lourdes, France in 1858, Mary is the
Immaculate Conception. The Almighty never allowed the disobedience of Adam and
Eve to disgrace her immortal soul. The Universal Church fittingly honors her
for her singular role in our redemption and, especially on December 8th,
begs Our Lady’s earnest prayers on our behalf.
“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”
TOTA PULCHRA ES, MARIA
YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL, MARY
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