The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma that states that Mary, whose conception was brought about in the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain. In Irish this feast day is called, Féile Mhuire gan Smál – Feast of Mary without stain

It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived “by the power of the Holy Spirit,” in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect.

When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Lk. 1:28). The phrase “full of grace” is a translation of the Greek word ‘Kecharitomene’ which literally means: “to have been created in the fullness of grace”. That Greek word appears nowhere else in the Bible and is used only in reference to Mary.

We read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin “. (CCC # 491). And in the next paragraph we read: The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”

It is also worth noting, that although Mary was preserved from original sin and indeed remained sinless throughout her life she was still in need of salvation…”My spirit rejoices in GOD my saviour…” (Lk. 1:47). But Mary was saved before her sin, not like us. We are saved after our sin by the merits of the Cross of Christ. In other words, there are two ways to save someone who falls into the sea; one is to pull them out the other is to stop them from falling in in the first place. The Immaculate Conception is the latter. Mary was saved from falling into sin in the first place.

To Do: Mary revealed to a visionary that her favourite title to addressed by is the Immaculate Conception, just as she told St Bernadette in Lourdes. During this week pray this simple prayer often throughout the day: “Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,”