Feast of the Immaculate Conception

1. Feast of the Immaculate Conception

2. On December 8, we honour the Immaculate Conception of Mary our Mother. • Our first parents - Adam and Eve - offended God by sinning seriously. Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, every baby is born into the world with original sin.

3. Because we are all children of our first parents we all inherited their sin. This sin in us is called original sin and is removed when we are baptised.

4. But the Blessed Virgin Mary was given a marvellous gift. She was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without this original sin. • In her humanness she was to be like ourselves, but in another way she would be different

5. God made her perfect. Even though she would be one of the children of Adam and Eve, she would not inherit original sin like the rest of us, nor any weakness that might lead her to commit sin. So Mary was untouched by original sin.

6. That is what we mean by the Immaculate Conception - that Mary was in a state of grace from the moment she was conceived – from the first moment of her existence.

7. That is why when the Angel Gabriel came to her in Nazareth he could say: "Hail, full of grace. . . ." • That is why when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, she could say: "Blessed art thou amongst women. . . ."

8. In November 1830 Our Lady showed herself to Catherine Laboure standing on a globe with streams of light coming from her hands. Underneath were the words: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!"

9. Our Lady gave Catherine a direct order: "Have a medal struck as I have shown you. All who wear it will receive great graces." So it was that the medal, which we call the miraculous medal, was made.

10. On December 8, 1854Pope Pius IX proclaimed to the whole world that there was no doubt at all that Mary was conceived without sin.

11. The Pope stated: "We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful...."

12. Four years later, in 1858, Our Lady appeared to Bernadette at Lourdes. When St. Bernadette asked the lovely lady who she was, Mary joined her hands and raised her eyes toward heaven. She said, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

13. On this day we pray: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee

14. Activities on Immaculate Conception – (See Word Document) Wordsearch on Immaculate Conception JBGRACENYRAMT ISCETTEDANREB LSUIQDNNUEJOR COCOOYHATPRUC HPUGLREANILDO UAURFULVGIJQN LFCTDUCIVLYXC ASUICENAYRSYE DHIAUASPROOFP EFMYLTSAKIQXT MMCSXYJDOLMEI IDIEREBMECEDO JNYXZZGXOKBDN Colouring Page