Dedication of the Month
-
Prayers of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of Grace,
The Lord is with Thee,
Blessed art thou
among women,
And Blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour
of our death. Amen
**********
O Mary conceived without sin,
pray for us who have
recourse to thee.
(say three times)
**********
The Canticle of Mary.
(The Magnificat)
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly."
(Luke 1 46:55)
**********
O Immaculate Heart of Mary,
refuge of sinners,
I beg of you by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
and by the graces God has granted to you since your Immaculate Conception,
the grace of never going astray again.
Mother, keep me, a sinner,
constantly bathed in the light of your Immaculate Heart.
Amen.
**********
The Angelus
(said at 12:00pm)
The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, etc…
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to Your Word.
Hail Mary, etc…
V. And the Word was made flesh,
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, etc…
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech You,
O Lord,
Your Grace into our hearts;
that as we have known the incarnation of Christ,
your Son by the message
of an angel,
so by His passion and cross
we may be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.
Through the same Christ,
our Lord. Amen.
-
December
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
(Holy Day of Obligation)
December 8th 2020
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
is normally celebrated on December 8,
exactly nine months before the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8).
However, because the celebration of the Immaculate Conception falls during Advent every year, the feast is transferred to December 9 when December 8 falls on a Sunday. While the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation (even when December 8 falls on a Saturday or Monday), the obligation is removed when the celebration of the feast is transferred to December 9.
The Immaculate Conception does not refer to the conception and birth of Christ. Nor does it refer to Mary being conceived “by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne.
When the angel Gabrielle addressed Mary, he said
'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28).
God endowed Mary the grace of being born without Original Sin in anticipation that she was to bear the Son of God. This conception of Mary is called "immaculate" because Mary was conceived without Original Sin.
The Blessed Mother appeared to Catherine Labouré and Bernadette Soubirous with the message that She is the Immaculate Conception
In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed this dogma infallibly: that is, in his role as supreme teacher of the Church, he declared that this doctrine is divinely revealed and must be accepted with faith by the entire Church. United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, 142-143)
-
Apparition to
Catherine Labouré
November 27, 1830
The Blessed Mother appeared to Catherine and asked her to have a medal made. In Catherine’s words: "As I was busy contemplating Her, the Blessed Virgin fixed Her eyes upon me, and a voice said in the depths of my heart: ' This globe which you see represents the whole world, especially France, and each person in particular.'
"There now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame rather oval in shape on which were written in letters of gold these words: 'O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.' Then a voice said to me: ' Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.'
"At the same instant, the oval frame seemed to turn around. Then I saw on the back of it the letter 'M', surmounted by a cross, with a crossbar beneath it, and under the monogram of the name of Mary, the Holy Hearts of Jesus and of His Mother; the first surrounded by a crown of thorns and the second transpierced by a sword. I was anxious to know what words must be placed on the reverse side of the medal and after many prayers, one day in meditation I seemed to hear a voice which said to me: ' The 'M' with the Cross and the two Hearts tell enough.' "
-
Apparition to
Bernadette Soubirous
March 25, 1858
During the apparitions at Lourdes, on March 25th,1858,
the day of the sixteenth apparition, Bernadette Soubirous asked the “Lady” her name.
The “Lady” replied in the local dialect,
"Que soy era Immaculada Counceptiou",
which means
"I am the Immaculate Conception".