Praying with our Blessed Mother (and with the Church) on the Advent journey

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

Each year, in the beautiful Season of Advent, the Church invites us to focus and reflect upon the two great “Advent Figures”: St. John the Baptist, who prepared the way of the Lord, and Mary, our Blessed Mother, who journeyed with Joseph to Bethlehem, where her Son, the Messiah, would be born. In the Gospel on the second and third Sundays of Advent, we hear of John the Baptist, as we heard him this past Sunday, encouraging and inviting us to repentance because the kingdom of God is at hand and “… the one who is coming after me is mightier than I…” Mt 3:11

Next Sunday, we will hear Jesus speak of who John is and was: “This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way before you. Amen, I say to you, among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Mt 11: 10–11

Perhaps, because we are so familiar with the Christ­mas story, there can be a danger that we “take for granted” our “focus” on Mary during Advent. Nativity scenes and Christmas plays, pageants, and carols (at least the religious ones) can certainly help us to stop and reflect on what it must have been like for Mary (and Joseph) to make that journey, endure all the challenges, and end up in that stable in Bethlehem. In the liturgical calendar, during the course of Advent, we celebrate two feast days that can help us to be close to our Blessed Mother in our prayer and reflection in our preparation for Christmas.

On Dec. 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immacu­late Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is also our “Patronal Feast Day” here in the United States and a holy day of obligation. The Immaculate Conception might be described as one of the most misunderstood Feast Days and dogmas (teachings) of the Church. One article summarizes some of the misunderstanding:

“It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people mistakenly think that the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father. 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.”
https://www.catholic.com/tract/immaculate-conception-and-assumption

As I reviewed some of the vast amounts of material that is available online describing the Solemnity (Feast Day) and the development of the “Dogma of the Immaculate Conception,” I found an article that I would highly recommend — not only because it accurately states that it is a “four-minute read.” One highlight of this excellent article by Fr. Richard Gribble, entitled “Understanding the Immaculate Conception” and found on the website “Simply Catholic” is this:

“Many developments regarding the definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception took place in the 19th century. In 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Labouré, revealing to her an image of what is referred to as the ‘Miraculous Medal.’ The medal was forged as a remembrance of this apparition, and contains the words, ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.’ This popular sacramental affirms the sinlessness of Mary and her Immaculate Conception.

In 1846, the U.S. bishops, meeting in Baltimore, unanimously selected the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, as the county’s patroness, which was approved by Pope Pius IX, who defined the dogma less than a decade later.”

If you read the article, you will also learn that Blessed Pope Pius IX “pronounced the dogma in 1854 — the first dogma so proclaimed outside an ecumenical council.”

Following a period of wide consultation with the bishops of the world, the pope promulgated the Apostolic Constitution, Ineffabilis Deus — “God ineffable,” which reflects the very heavy consensus of the bishops of the world in favor of the infallible definition of the Immacu­late Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pius IX noted that belief has deep roots in the liturgy and solid foundation in theology and history. Blessed Pius IX solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception as follows: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin” (Ineffabilis Deus). The majesty and power of God are so far beyond absolute human comprehension — “ineffable” — that God has revealed that the Virgin Mary shared in the fruits of her Son’s redemptive death and resurrection even before that salvation took place in human time. And:

Blessed Pius IX’s initiative to define Mary’s perpetual sinlessness was given validity in 1858. That year Mary made a series of apparitions to the young French peasant girl St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes. In the apparitions, Mary identified herself by stating, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” https://www.simplycatholic.com/immaculate-conception/

Within four days, Dec. 8–12, we celebrate not only the patroness of the United States but also the patroness of all of the Americas as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12. Within those same four days, we celebrate, on Dec. 9, the Feast of St. Juan Diego. I am fairly sure that most readers know the story of the apparition of our Blessed Mother, as “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” to Juan Diego on a hill called “Tepeyac” in Mexico City in 1531. For those who may not be familiar with the story (or would like a “review”), I think I have found a new favorite website, “Simply Catholic.” After finding the article on the Immaculate Conception, I went back to see what it might offer on Our Lady of Guadalupe and found another excellent article (a “seven-minute read”): https://www.simplycatholic.com/truly-heaven-sent/

If you would like to get a little closer to our Blessed Mother during this Advent Season, one thing you could do is find a parish that has a Spanish-speaking community and is celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Even if you don’t speak or understand a word of Spanish, you will find people who have a deep love for the Blessed Mother and who want to show their love and gratitude to her by coming for Mass or visiting Church on her Feast Day. As they come to Mass or for a visit, they often carry roses, symbolizing the roses that Mary instructed Juan Diego to bring to the bishop as a sign of the authenticity of her presence, message, and request for a Shrine/Church to be built in her honor. Almost 500 years later, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe remains on that same spot at Tepeyac and is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims yearly. The words of the Blessed Mother at Tepeyac to Saint Juan Diego are our consolation and hope this Advent and always: “Am I not here, I, who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection?” Immaculately conceived and pointing us toward the life found in her Son, our Blessed Mother is always our encouragement and support.

During the Season of Advent, there is so much for us to appreciate about the beauty and diversity of our Catholic Faith and our Church, the “mystical Body of Christ.” Whether it is our love for and devotion to Mary, our Blessed Mother, or the many other wonderful traditions and customs that are part of our spiritual preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The Feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe are two “Advent gifts” given to us by the Church to help us remember, focus, and pray as we travel together with Mary and one another on our “Advent journey” to Bethlehem.