The Immaculate Conception
Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, often mistakenly thought to refer to the way Mary was conceived or to the way she conceived Jesus in her womb.
The Immaculate Conception means that what we received at Baptism, Mary received immediately. From the first moment of her conception she was free from sin Immaculate.
The feast was celebrated in England as early as the 12th century, and in the 18th century was made a feast of the whole Church.
In 1846, the sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore made this the patronal feast of the Church in the United States.
In 1854, after consultation with the bishops of the world and with theologians, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a doctrine of the Church.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. (Matthew 2:1-2)
That a star rose to signal the birth of the king of the Jews would not have seemed strange to the people of that time. It was widely accepted that the births and deaths of great people were marked by signs in the heavens.
The Magi use the phrase king of the Jews. It is one of Matthews hints of the Passion. One cant help but think of these very words hanging above Christs head on the cross.
The Christmas season is not a time of unmixed joy. There is also sadness, pain. It will be lonely for those who have just lost someone they loved. For some others, it is always lonely. This season sends us deep within our soul a mixture of happy and sad thoughts, thanksgiving for what we have, sometimes musing of what might have been.
Dont resist the mixture. Its already there in the feast itself. Were celebrating the birth of the one who suffered, died, and rose from the dead to open the door of life for us. We/re celebrating the birth of the one who came to reach out to those who need him. That's what he came to do.
And thats what he still does.