The Roman Catholic Church celebrates today, 08 December 2024, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a solemnity in accord with the Roman Catholic Marian dogmas, namely: Divine motherhood, Perpetual virginity, Immaculate conception and Assumption of Mary both to heavenly glory, body and soul as declared in 1950 by Pope Pious XII.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was born sometime in the 18th century Before Christ (BC) from the couple Saint Joachim and Saint Anne who were infertile and prayed to God for a child. The observance of this feast began with a Papal encyclical by Pope Pius IX, when he formally defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Ineffabilis Deus, on December 8, 1854.
About four years later, in 1858, the Blessed Mother gave her name to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes stating, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The Blessed Virgin Mary was bord around 18 BC in Herodian Judea and died after 33 A. D. (Anno Domini) in Jerusalem, the Province of Judaea, or Ephesus, the Province of Asia. The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary was prepared by God to be immaculate for she will bear the son of God, the Word that was made flesh and became man to save mankind from the wages of sin.
There had been many apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary that had been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, among them are is the Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531 in Tepeyac, Mexico whose feast day is celebrated every December 12, the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in 1830 in Reu du Bac in Paris, France, Our Lady of the La Sallete in 1846 in Mount Sous-Les Baisses in La Salette, Fallavaux, France and many more.
These apparitions are manifestations of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s love for mankind and her great role as intercessor between our Savior Jesus Christ and mankind. The message in such apparitions is for man to repent and obey God’s will, maintaining respect for our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ and to pray the Holy Rosary. The Blessed Virgin Mary had also brought many miracles, with over sixty medical cures associated with our Lady of Lourdes have been certified as miraculous by the Catholic Church which established its own Medical Bureau in 1883 to review and evaluate claims of cures. An independent study of cures published during 2012 concluded that some of the cures were “currently beyond our ken but still impressive, incredibly effective, and awaiting a scientific explanation.
It is apt to renew the call for all of mankind to repent and renew their lives in accordance with the will of God. We ought to respect the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of our savior. It is well to ponder who we can approach and pray to God for all our needs if we continue to disrespect, or at time do acts of blasphemy to her mother. May this year’s celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception bring us closer to God through His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
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