Feast of the Immaculate Conception - December 8
Immaculate Conception of Mary
Mary, the Immaculate Conception
Nossa Senhora da Conceição
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Solemnity
8 December
9 December (Latin calendar if 8 December is a Sunday in order to avoid conflict with Advent)
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The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin in the first instant of her conception in the womb of her mother. This was a singular privilege and grace of God, granted in view of the merits of Jesus Christ. By her conception is meant not the act or part of her parents in it, nor the formation of her body, nor the conception of Christ later in her own womb; from the moment her soul was created and infused into her body, it was free from original sin and filled with sanctifying grace. Her soul was never stained by original sin, nor by the depraved emotions, passions, and weaknesses consequent on that sin, but created in a state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice. She had at least the graces of the first Eve before the Fall and more. This privilege was befitting the one who was to be mother of the Redeemer.
The doctrine was defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX, 8 December 1854. It is in accord with the texts of Scripture (Genesis 3), “I will put enmities between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed”; (Luke 1), “Hail, full of grace.” It is established by tradition, by the writings of the Fathers, by feasts observed in honour of this prerogative, by the general belief of the faithful. The very controversies over it among theologians brought about a clear understanding and acceptance of the doctrine long before it was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX. After the declaration, some Protestant writers denounced what they styled Mariolatry (idolatry of Mary). However, there is a constantly-growing devotion among Catholics, and respect among some Protestant groups for the prerogatives of the Mother of Our Redeemer.
Among the many masters who have represented the Immaculate Conception in art are: Carducci, Carreno de Miranda, Falco, Holbein, Montanes, Muller, Murillo, Reni, Ribera, and Signorelli. It is the title she used when appearing at Lourdes.
The feast originated in the East about the 8th century where it was celebrated on 9 December. In the Western Church it appeared first in England in the 11th century and was included in the calendar of the universal Church in the 14th century. It has a vigil and an octave, and is a holy day of obligation in the United States, Ireland, and Scotland.
Name Meaning
stainless (immaculata) (Latin)
Patronage
barrel makers
cloth makers
cloth workers
coopers
tapestry workers
upholsterers
–
Amazon rainforest (proclaimed on 4 June 1954 by Pope Pius XII)
Brazilian Army
soldiers of the United States (proclaimed on 8 May 1942 by Pope Pius XII)
Spanish infantry
–
Argentina
Brazil
Congo (proclaimed by Pope Leo XII on 21 July 1891)
Equatorial Guinea
Guam
Inner Mongolia
Nicaragua
Panama
Portugal (proclaimed on 8 May 1671 by Pope Clement X; on 25 March 1936 by Pope Pius XI; and on 20 March 1962 by Pope John XXIII)
Spain
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Tunisia
United States (proclaimed on 26 March 1914 by Pope Pius X)
Lusofonia, Lusophones
–
Abaetetuba, Brazil, diocese of
Agra, India, archdiocese of
Aix-Arles, France, archdiocese of
Ajmer, India, diocese of
Albany, New York, diocese of
Aracaju, Brazil, archdiocese of
Auchi, Nigeria, diocese of
Austin, Texas, diocese of
Aysén, Chile, vicariate apostolic of
Baltimore, Maryland, archdiocese of
Bar, Montenegro, archdiocese of
Bari-Bitonto, Italy, archdiocese of
Besancon, France, archdiocese of
Bismarck, North Dakota, diocese of
Brooklyn, New York, diocese of
Brownsville, Texas, diocese of
Bùi Chu, Vietnam, diocese of
Burlington, Vermont, diocese of
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Camden, New Jersey, diocese of
Chicago, Illinois, archdiocese of
Clifton, England, diocese of
Crookston, Minnesota, diocese of
Denver, Colorado, archdiocese of
Dhaka, Bangladesh, archdiocese of
Dundo, Angola, diocese of
Edmundston, New Brunswick, diocese of
Elphin, Ireland, diocese of
Évora, Portugal, archdiocese of
Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, diocese of
Galveston-Houston, Texas, archdiocese of
Grand Falls, Newfoundland, diocese of
Hexham and Newcastle, England, diocese of
Hildesheim, Germany, diocese of
Huambo, Angola, archdiocese of
Johannesburg, South Africa, diocese of
Kansas City, Kansas, archdiocese of
Kansas City – Saint Joseph, Missouri, diocese of
Keimoes-Upington, South Africa, diocese of
Kingston, Ontario, archdiocese of
Kwito-Bié, Angola, diocese of
Lafayette, Louisiana, diocese of
Lansing, Michigan, diocese of
Lincoln, Nebraska, diocese of
Liverpool, England, archdiocese of
London, Ontario, diocese of
Malolos, Philippines, diocese of
Mbanza Congo, Angola, diocese of
Memphis, Tennessee, diocese of
Mobile, Alabama, archdiocese of
Nelson, British Columbia, diocese of
Northampton, England, diocese of
Nottingham, England, diocese of
Nueva Segovia, Philippines
Ogdensburg, New York, diocese of
Ozamiz, Philippines, archdiocese of
Palermo, Italy, archdiocese of
Peoria, Illinois, diocese of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, archdiocese of
Philippines, military ordinariate of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, diocese of
Pondicherry and Cuddalore, India, archdiocese of
Port Pirie, Austalia, diocese of
Portland, Maine, diocese of
Portland, Oregon, archdiocese of
Portsmouth, England, diocese of
Pueblo, Colorado, diocese of
Québec, Québec, archdiocese of
Rockford, Illinois, diocese of
Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, archdiocese of
Saint-Jérôme-Mont-Laurier, Québec, diocese of
Saint John, New Brunswick, diocese of
Saint John’s, Newfoundland, diocese of
Santarém, Portugal, diocese of
Seattle, Washington, archdiocese of
Shreveport, Louisiana, diocese of
Southwark, England, archdiocese of
Spokane, Washington, diocese of
Springfield, Illinois, diocese of
Sucre, Bolivia, archdiocese of
Sumbe, Angola, diocese of
Syracuse, New York, diocese of
Tyler, Texas, diocese of
Uíje, Angola, diocese of
Vila Real, Portugal, diocese of
Virac, Philippines, diocese of
Westminster, England, archdiocese of
Wichita, Kansas, diocese of
—
in Brazil
Aiuruoca
Alto Caparaó
Alto Jequitibá
Augusto de Lima
Barão de Monte Alto
Berilo
Bragança Paulista
Buenópolis
Buritizeiro
Cachoeira de Pajeú
Camaducaia
Cantagalo
Capim Branco
Carbonita
Careaçu
Carrancas
Catas Altas
Cláudio
Comercinho
Conceição da Barra de Minas
Conceição das Alagoas
Conceição das Pedras
Conceição de Ipanema
Conceição do Mato Dentro
Conceição do Pará
Conceição do Rio Verde
Conceição dos Ouros
Congonhas
Conselheiro Lafaiete
Corinto
Coronel Xavier Chaves
Couto de Magalhães de Minas
Cristália
Divisa Nova
Estrela Dalva
Francisco Badaró
Francisco Dumont
Frei Gaspar
Icaraí de Minas
Ijaci
Itacarambi
Itanhandu
Jaboticatubas
Jacuí
Jeceaba
Jequitaí
João Monlevade
Laranjal
Linhares
Maiano, Sessa Aurunca
Mário Campos
Matias Barbosa
Matias Cardoso
Monjolos
Monsenhor Paulo
Monte Belo
Morro da Garça
Nanuque
Novorizonte
Palmópolis
Pedra Azul
Pedras de Maria da Cruz
Pedro Leopoldo
Perdizes
Piranga
Pompéu
Porto Firme
Portalegre
Pouso Alto
Prados
Raposos
Rio Casca
Rio Novo
Rio Pardo de Minas
Sabará
Santa Fé de Minas
Santa Maria do Salto
São Miguel do Anta
Senador Firmino
Serranópolis de Minas
Serro
Setubinha
Sobrália
Teófilo Otoni
Tombos
Unaí
Uruana de Minas
Urucuia
Várzea da Palma
Vermelho Novo
Virgínia
in Colombia
Cucutilla
in England
Birmingham
Clifton
in France
Corsica
in Germany
Eberbach Monastery
in Ireland
Elphin
in Italy
Bitonto
Bovalino Superiore
Carmagnola
Cassano d’Adda
Cefalù
Cerva, Catanzaro
Corleone, Sicily
Eraclea
Fiumefreddo Bruzio
Floridia
Luzzi
Manduria
San Nicandro Garganico
Scauri
in Malta
Is-Swieqi
Swieqi
in Portugal
Vila Real
Vila Viçosa
in Puerto Rico
Toa Alto
Cardiff, Wales
Pasig, Philippines
Torrevieja, Spain

IrapuatoDec 8

Home / The cover of the month / Spotless Mirror
Spotless Mirror
Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560–1627) lived in Toledo, Spain, until the age of forty-three. In that city he was an esteemed painter. There he met El Greco (1541–1614), owned two of his paintings, and loaned him a significant amount of money. His still-lifes are among the high points of Spanish painting. In them we find his whole soul, which was enamored with asceticism. In them he stored up the fruits of his contemplation of the transcendent character of simple things.1 Despite his increasing success, Sánchez Cotán, who was well acquainted with the Franciscans, reveled more and more in humility, poverty of spirit, and silence. With his genius contemporary Lope de Vega—the phoenix of the literature of the Spanish Golden Age—he might have said: “My condition of littleness seems to me true greatness; and the things that make others great, because they really are not, seem little to me.”
In 1603 he decided to “die to the world.” He drew up his last will and testament, parted with all his belongings, and entered the Charterhouse of Granada, in Andalusia. There he found the rigor, simplicity, solitude, and silence to which he aspired. As Pope Pius XI acknowledged in the 20th century, the Carthusian order, founded in 1084 by Saint Bruno and Saint Hugh, never needed to be reformed, because its practice never deviated from its rule. At the Charterhouse in Granada, therefore, Brother Juan went on to lead an extremely austere life of prayer and contemplation. However, like Fra Angelico, he illuminated with his canvases and frescos the living and worship spaces of the monastery. Notwithstanding his exceptional talents, he considered himself to be the least of servants, and his benevolence, thoughtfulness, and admirable simplicity earned him a reputation for sanctity that is still alive in our day.
In 1617, Pope Paul V put an end to the theological controversies about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although he did not proclaim the dogma (Pius IX did so in 1854), he nonetheless imposed silence on all its opponents. To salute this decision, Brother Juan set out to paint the work that adorns the cover of this issue of Magnificat Mary is shown as the Immaculate Conception, facing the viewer, as though emanating from the celestial light through the working of the Holy Spirit who hovers over her. She is depicted as the Woman in the Book of Revelation: A great portent appeared in heaven, a Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Rv 12:1). She is a young girl with golden hair, admirably dressed. Around her, the cloud through which God manifests his glory forms a mandorla. The scene unfolds above a landscape that represents the countryside of Granada, in which the viewer sees the Charterhouse on the left, then the ramparts of the city (like those of the heavenly Jerusalem), and in the background the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In the foreground below and in the heavenly clouds at the right and left sides of the painting the artist depicted sixteen of the mystical attributes of the Immaculata, as they were sung in the litanies that developed into the Litany of Loretto. Starting from the upper left of the painting (the sun), then continuing along the foreground at the bottom, and finally ascending to the top right (the moon), here is the list of titles:
Bright as the sun,
Spotless mirror,
Gate of heaven,
Flowering stem of Jesse,
Tower of David,
City of God (the ramparts of Granada),
Fountain of the gardens,
Mystical rose,
Well of living water,
Lofty cedar,
Precious olive tree,
Enclosed garden,
Like a lily among thorns,
Seat of Wisdom,
Morning Star,
Fair as the moon.
————————————-
1 See two of his most beautiful still-lifes at the Magnificat above.
Pierre-Marie Dumont
The Immaculate Conception (c. 1617–1618), Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560–1627), Museum of Fine Arts, Granada, Spain.

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THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
(Declared a dogma December 8, 1854 by Pius IX)
www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/12-08.htm
On this day, so dear to every Catholic heart, we celebrate first of all the moment when Almighty God, in a vision telescoping the ages, showed Mary both to our first parents and to the demon, as the Virgin Mother of the future divine Redeemer, the Woman destined to crush the proud head of the serpent. This episode is narrated in the first book of Scripture, Genesis chapter 3. We find Her again in the last canonical prophecy of the Bible, the Apocalypse or Revelation of Saint John the Apostle, as the Woman clothed with the sun, having on Her head a crown of twelve stars. In this beautiful vision She is also identified with the persecuted Apostolic Church, obliged to flee into the “desert”, and as the Mother of a great Head of that Church, destined to govern the flock of the latter times in the final combat, who like that flock is Her own Child. (chapter 12) Mary, like Her Son, is at the beginning and the end of all God’s intentions, an integral part of His designs for the Redemption of the human race.
Since by eternal decree She was exempted from all stain of original sin from the first moment of Her Creation, and was endowed with the richest treasures of grace and sanctity, it is fitting that we honor Her glorious prerogatives by this special feast of the Immaculate Conception. We should join in spirit with the Blessed in heaven and rejoice with our dear Mother, not only for Her own sake, but for ours, Her children, for we are partakers of Her glory and happiness. “The treasures of the mother are the heritage of the children,” said Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.
We celebrate at the same time the ever-memorable day, the 8th of December of 1854, which raised the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady from a pious belief to the dignity of a dogma of the infallible Church, causing a great and universal joy among the faithful. The Holy See had already permitted the feast day from the time of Sixtus IV, by his papal bull Cum Praecelsa (1477), formally allowing its celebration for all dioceses desiring it. In 1854, the ancient faith of the people in their Mother exulted.
Reflection: Let us repeat frequently these words applied by the Church to the Blessed Virgin: “Thou art all fair, O Mary! and there is no stain in Thee” (Cant. 4:7).
Sources: The Holy Bible: Old and New Testaments; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources, by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
Updated 08/27/2010 13:30:03.