Today’s feast reminds us of the Church’s teaching that the Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. This was a special and a fitting honour bestowed on one who would give birth to the Saviour.
Mary still had to walk by faith through life and ponder the ways of God in her heart. She had to give her ‘yes’ to God without knowing fully what her ‘yes’ would entail. Mary models discipleship for us all.
May this feast, celebrated at the beginning of the season of Advent, help us to know that “Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed. Each of us is loved. Each of us is necessary.” (Pope Benedict XVI)
Main Image: ‘Immaculate Conception’, Murillo