December
8
On
this and the following eight days the Church celebrates, with
particular solemnity, the immaculate conception of the ever-blessed
Virgin Mary, who, from all eternity, was chosen to be the daughter of
the heavenly Father, the spouse of the Holy Ghost, the Mother of the
divine Redeemer, and, by consequence, the queen of angels and of men.
The consideration of these prerogatives convinced the most
enlightened fathers and teachers of the Catholic Church that she was
conceived immaculate, that is, without original sin. It is very
remarkable that among the shining hosts of saints who have, in every
century, adorned the Church no one wrote against this belief, while
we find it confirmed by the decisions of the holy fathers from the
earliest times. Pope Pius IX, forced, as it were, by the faith and
devotion of the faithful throughout the world, finally, on 8 December
1854, sanctioned, as a dogma of faith falling within the infallible
rule of Catholic traditions, this admirable prerogative of the
Blessed Virgin. It is, therefore, now no longer, as fomerly, a pious
belief, but an article of the faith, that Mary, like the purest
morning light which precedes the rising of the most brilliant sun,
was, from the first instant of her conception, free from original
sin.
In
the Introit of the Mass the Church sings: "I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He
hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, and with the robe of
justice He hath covered me, as a bride adorned with her jewels. I
will extol thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and hast not made
my enemies to rejoice over me." Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now,
and forever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Prayer
We
beseech Thee, O Lord, to bestow on Thy servants the gift of heavenly
grace, that, for those to whom the Blessed Virgin's maternity was the
beginning of salvation, the votive solemnity of her immaculate
conception may procure increase of peace. Through Christ our Lord,
etc. Amen.
Epistle:
Proverbs 8:22-35
The
Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His ways, before He made
anything from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old
before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was
already conceived, neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung
out: the mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been
established: before the hills I was brought forth: He had not yet
made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When He
prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and
compass He enclosed the depths: when He established the sky above,
and poised the fountains of waters: when He compassed the sea with
its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass
their limits: when He balanced the foundations of the earth, I was
with Him forming all things; and was delighted every day, playing
before Him at all times; playing in the world, and My delights were
to be with the children of men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear Me:
Blessed are they that keep My ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and
refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, and that watcheth
daily at My gates, and waiteth at the posts of My doors. He that
shall find Me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the
Lord.
Explanation
This
lesson is, in the literal sense, a eulogy on the divine and uncreated
wisdom, which before all things was in God; through which all things
were made, disposed, and preserved; which rejoices in its works, and
calls upon all its creatures, especially on men, to render to it love
and obedience. Most of what is here said is also to be applied to
Mary, of whom it may with truth be said that, as the holiest and most
admirable of all creatures, she occupies the first place in the heart
of God. Therefore the Church also refers to her those words of the
wise man: "I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first
born of all creatures."
Gospel:
Luke 1:26-28
And
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of
Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace; the
Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.
--Goffine's
Devout Instructions
