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The Month of December Is Dedicated To
The Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain ( "macula" in Latin ) of original sin. The dogma thus says that, from the first moment of her existence, she was preserved by God from the lack of sanctifying grace that afflicts mankind, and that she was instead filled with divine grace. It is further believed that she lived a life completely free from sin. In the words of Pope Pius XII in Mystici Corporis, "she was free from any personal or hereditary sin". Her immaculate conception in the womb of her mother, by normal sexual intercourse, should not be confused with the doctrine of the virginal conception of her son Jesus.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8, was established as a universal feast in 1476 by Pope Sixtus IV. He did not define the doctrine as a dogma, thus leaving Roman Rite Catholics freedom to believe in it or not without being accused of heresy; this freedom was reiterated by the Council of Trent. The existence of the feast was a strong indication of the Church's belief in the Immaculate Conception, even before its 19th century definition as a dogma.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception ( December 8th ) is a Holy Day of Obligation, except where conferences of bishops have decided, with the approval of the Holy See, not to maintain it as such. It is a public holiday in some countries where Roman Catholicism is predominant e.g. Italy. In the Philippines, although this is not a public holiday, the predominance of Catholic Schools make it almost a holiday.

The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus, on December 8, 1854. The Roman Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by Scripture ( e.g. Mary's being greeted by Angel Gabriel as "full of grace" or "highly favoured" ), as well as either directly or indirectly by the writings of Church Fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Ambrose of Milan, as well as sensus fidei and often calls Mary the Blessed Virgin (Luke 1:48). Catholic theology maintains that, since Jesus became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, it was fitting that she be completely free of sin for expressing her fiat.

For the Roman Catholic Church the dogma of the Immaculate Conception gained additional significance from the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1858. In Lourdes a 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed a beautiful lady appeared to her. The lady said "I am the Immaculate Conception" and the faithful believe her to be the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In this sense, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception defined by Pope Pius IX is also viewed as a key example of the use of sensus fidelium shared by the faithful and the Magisterium rather than pure reliance on Scripture and tradition. The Vatican quotes in this context Fulgens Corona, where Pius XII supported such a faith:

If the popular praises of the Blessed Virgin Mary be given the careful consideration they deserve, who will dare to doubt that she, who was purer than the angels and at all times pure, was at any moment, even for the briefest instant, not free from every stain of sin?”

Now, the Roman Catholic tradition has a well established philosophy for the study of Immaculate Conception and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary via the field of Mariology with Pontifical schools such as the Marianum specifically devoted to this task.

Because The Blessed Virgin was conceived without original sin, she had a perfect purity, with no bad inclinations. Therefore, she had a great facility to correspond entirely with the grace of God at every moment. Natural and the supernatural grandeur merged together in her soul in a profound and extraordinary harmony. Above all others creatures, she had the highest notion of the sanctity of God and His correspondent glory. She also had the clear notion of what Creation owes to that glory. She knew, and knows, how all created beings should glorify God.

As a consequence, she also had a profound horror of the opposite of good, which is evil. She had a great intransigence to such evil, a complete rejection of it in its least forms and a strong combativeness against it. This is the reason Holy Scripture refers to Our Lady as “terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata,” as terrible as an army set in battle array. The Church also says that it is she alone who smashes all heresies. To celebrate this fact, in statues of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady is crushing the head of the serpent.

The feast of her Immaculate Conception is, then, in many senses, the commemoration of her purity, her intransigence, and her combativeness.

Let us look more closely at what intransigence is. When a person has a very clear notion of what is good and an understanding of the highest expressions of this good, this person knows that the opposite is bad. It is not a theoretical knowledge, like that of a scientist who analyzes a specimen in a laboratory, but rather a knowledge that comes hand in hand with a great love for good. The person naturally recognizes the opposite of such good, which is evil, and hates evil with an intensity proportionate to the magnitude of his love for the good.

Since he loves the highest ideals that good represents, he cannot tolerate the opposite of that good, because he clearly sees the evil that exists in it. He rejects evil not only in its ensemble, but in each of its parts. He rejects evil not only when it is very intense, but when it barely appears. This is intolerance or intransigence.

The human spirit is constituted in such a way that when a man hates evil, he increases and perfects his love for the good. In a certain way the presence of something that he rejects reinforces his conviction of, and his love for the good. The human psychology is so established that such contrast makes a person more acutely aware of how the good is good. For instance, we love our counter-revolutionary vocation more when we can see concretely how the revolutionaries hate it. Seeing this, we receive a confirmation that we are taking the right position.

What is combativeness? Combativeness is a consequence of intransigence. It is to make a deliberate decision to destroy the evil that opposes the glory of God. It is a calm deliberation followed by the utilization of every means one has at his disposal to achieve that goal. It is not a fleeting resolution to fight during one single episode when evil is attacking good, but it is a permanent determination applied to all aspects of evil and throughout the life of a person. The person does not rest until evil is destroyed.

A true combativeness does not rest until evil is reduced to ashes. In Portugal there was an expression regarding evil that was applied in different ways in old Portuguese Law: Evil shall be reduced to ashes by fire. If a man committed a horrific crime, he received the sentence of capital punishment: his body was burned, and his ashes dispersed either in the air or water. This was the application of that axiom.

Here I am not advocating this punishment be applied to this or that person in this or that present day State. I am taking it as a general principle to apply to the fight of ideas and institutions. A bad man can be killed, and he is gone. But who can kill a bad idea or destroy a revolutionary conspiracy that strives to prevent God from receiving the glory He deserves and Holy Mother Church from exerting her mission on earth? For this fight we need a true combativeness that reduces the Revolution and its cohorts to ashes by fire. This kind of intransigence and combativeness were two attributes of Our Lady that were consequences of the privilege of her Immaculate Conception. ~~ Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveiraessor

Advent is a season that begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, when the Church commemorates the centuries of waiting for the arrival of the Savior promised to the Jews in the Old Testament. For Christians, the season of Advent is a time of quiet meditation in preparation for the Christmas celebration in honor of the birth of Jesus.

Each of the four weeks before Christmas in churches, and in many homes, candles will be lit on an Advent wreath. The history of using a lighted wreath of greens to celebrate the anticipation of the birth of Christ dates to the 9th century AD, when Catholics adopted the candle-lit wreath as a symbol of faith.

The circle is an ancient symbol, used by many ancient cultures to symbolize eternity. The evergreen branches are also ancient symbols for eternal life. Christians took these ancient symbols and "baptized" them, giving them Catholic meanings. The candles symbolize the Christ Child, the Light of the World. Together, the Advent wreath then, is a message, that symbolizes Jesus Christ, the Eternal Light of the World.

By the 16th century Catholics throughout Europe commonly used these symbols to celebrate their faith in thee Trinity. Homes, churches, and public buildings all across Europe used Advent wreathes.

Traditionally, the Advent wreath is made of four candles in a circle of evergreens. Three of the candles are purple, and one is pink ( rose ). Each day the candles are lighted, perhaps before the evening meal- one candle the first week - lighting an additional candle each succeeding week, until Christmas Eve.

Purple, symbolizes penitence ( sorrow for wrong-doing ) and humility. Advent is a time of solemn preparation for the Feast of Christmas - the dawn of new Light in the world and the fulfillment of Hope, with the birth of Jesus. Although most people tend to equate the Christmas season with joy and anticipation, during our Advent reflections we pray and meditate on the reasons why God had to send us a Savior. Thus, Advent is actually seen as a "penitential" season.

Rose, symbolizes joy. The rose colored (pink) candle is burned beginning with the third week of Advent to symbolize the "half-way" point in the dark time of waiting. The third Sunday of Advent is called "Gaudete Sunday". Gaudete is the Latin word for "joy," and on Gaudete Sunday we focus on our anticipatory joy in the coming of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.

How to Use Your Advent Wreath

The idea is to use the wreath in conjunction with worship services or personal or family devotions on the four Sundays in Advent. You light candles at the beginning of each service and extinguish them out at the end of the service.

On the first Sunday in Advent, you light the first candle. Have your service, then snuff out the candle.
On the second Sunday in Advent, you light two candles, first the one from the previous Sunday, then the second candle. Once again, at the close of your prayers, extinguish both candles.
On the third Sunday in Advent, you light the two candles from the previous weeks, in the order you lit them before, then you add the third one. Have your service, then snuff out the candles.
On the fourth Sunday in Advent, you light the three candles from the previous weeks, in the order you lit them before, then you light the fourth one. Have your service, then extinguish the candles. You should get a stair-step effect, since each candle is a different length by now.

If you have a fifth candle in the center, then on Christmas Day you light the four candles in the order you lit them before, and then you light the center candle. Have your service, then extinguish the candles.

Snuff out the candles, rather than blowing them out, to avoid the potential of a hot wax spray.

Prayers for Use With the Advent Candles

When you use an Advent Wreath in personal or family devotions, you can use whatever scriptures and prayers you like. If you need a point of departure, here is something to get you started. Please don’t take it as a set form. You can use different readings, you can modify the prayers, and you can add hymns, carols, or other prayers as you like.

On the first Sunday in Advent

Light one purple candle.

Read Isaiah 60:2-3;
Say this or invoke a personal prayer :

Lord God, we light this candle to thank you for your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. We who have sat in darkness have seen a great light, the light of Jesus Christ, our salvation. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus' name, because he lives and reigns with you in your glory, and in the unity of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

On the second Sunday in Advent

Light two purple candles.

Read Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 1:4;
Say this or invoke a personal prayer :

Lord God, we light this candle to thank you for your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the way. We who like sheep have gone astray have found the way to you through Jesus Christ. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus' name, because he lives and reigns with you in your glory, and in the unity of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

On the third Sunday in Advent

Light three purple candles.

Read Isaiah 35:10
Say this or invoke a personal prayer :

Lord God, we light this candle to thank you for your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who brings us great joy. We who have walked in the shadow of the valley of death have found life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus' name, because he lives and reigns with you in your glory, and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

On the fourth Sunday in Advent.

Light all four candles.

Read Isaiah 9:6-7;
Say this or invoke a personal prayer :

Lord God, we light this candle to thank you for your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace. We who live in discord and strife have found peace in the promise of eternal life, through Jesus Christ. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus' name, because he lives and reigns with you in your glory, and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

On Christmas Eve after sundown or on Christmas Day ( if you have a fifth white candle in the center )

Light all the purple candles and the white candle.

Read Luke 1:68-79 and Luke 2:1-20
Prayer :

We praise you, Lord God, because on this day, your Word became flesh in our Savior Jesus Christ, was born of a woman, and walked among us as a man. Help us to imitate your incarnation, by manifesting our faith in our conduct as well as in our speech. To you, O Lord, we give our honor, praise, worship, and love, in the most holy and precious name of the One who is born today; because He lives and reigns with you in your glory, and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen.