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Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception Mosaic at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionDecember's monthly devotion is to the Immaculate Conception. The specific feast day of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is December 8 and is a holy day of obligation (Catholics are required to attend Mass). ** This year December 8 falls on a Sunday which is a higher feast than the Immaculate Conception which means the celebration gets moved to December 9th and the obligation to attend Mass is removed. The Immaculate Conception is when Mary is conceived in her mother's (Ann) womb without original sin. While this has been a long held belief in Catholic tradition in 1854, Pope Pius IX stated that “The Most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, preserved exempt from all stain of original sin” (Ineffabilis Deus).
Take note from his statement, Mary still needed to be saved by Jesus Christ's sacrifice, but God granted her the grace of receiving that redemption from the moment of her conception. Catholics believe it is fitting for Mary to be without sin to prepare her for saying yes to being the Mother of Jesus.
Ways to celebrate:
- Have an all white dinner (White is a symbol of purity; Mary is pure from sin.) - pasta with alfredo sauce, cauliflower, meringue cookies, vanilla ice cream, etc
- Have a Mary parade. Give each person a statue or picture of Mary, walk around in a single-file line singing Ave Maria
- Print out these cards from Look to Him and Be Radiant to help learn the Hail Mary or have races to see who can put the words in order first - HAIL MARY CARDS
- Decorate the dinner table with Mary pictures or statues
- Go to Reconciliation (Mary was without sin; you can be too!)
- His Girl Sunday has some great homeschool/classroom ideas, especially for older kids or teens
- Wear all white or something white
Some Additional Resources to Learn more about the Immaculate Conception:(provided by Maria Cossell, SMG's Discipleship teacher)Videos on Youtube
-presented by Catholic Central
-talk by Dr. Edward Sri
-contains footage of the Holy Land
Understanding the Theology of the Immaculate Conception
-talk by Fr. Mike Schmitz
The Immaculate Conception Explained
-talk by Fr. Mike Schmitz
Videos on Formed.org
What Is The Immaculate Conception?
-great explanation for little kids
Novena
Craft-free online at Catholic Icing