Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 8
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a Christian holiday.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates an important point of Catholic teaching. It is a holy day of obligation.
The Immaculate Conception refers to the special way in which the Virgin Mary herself was conceived.
To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
Adam and Eve were both created immaculate, without original sin or its stain. They fell from grace, and through them mankind was bound to sin. Christ and Mary were also conceived immaculate. They remained faithful, and through them mankind was redeemed from sin. Christ is thus the new Adam, and Mary the new Eve.
