BEHIND THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
December 8, 2022. Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Readings: Gn 3:9-15, 20; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; Eph 1:3-6,11-12; Lk 1:26-38. “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28) A Chinese proverb says: “He who stays near vermilion gets stained red; he who stays near ink gets stained black.” And a Pakistani proverb adds: “One who is free to sin, sins less; the very power weakens the seeds of sin.” Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Macula" is Latin for “stain.” This day the Church celebrates the conception of our Blessed Mother without the stain of sin. What we profess here is that Mary, the blessed mother of our Lord and Savior, because of what God wanted her to be his Mother, was preserved by birth, from all marks or stains of sin. We refer here to the "original sin", the sin we all inherited from Adam and Eve. Mary was preserved from the original dis...