December Devotion: The Immaculate Conception
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of December is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first moment of her conception, by a singular privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, our Savior and hers, was preserved from all stain of original sin. This age-old belief of the Church was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854 as an article of revealed truth. Mary was in need of redemption and she was indeed f redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner of Mary's redemption, however, was unique. Instead of being freed from original sin after having contracted it, she was preserved from contracting it. This was a most fitting favor for the Mother of the Redeemer.
INVOCATION
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
TO THE VIRGIN IMMACULATE
O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of God and my Mother, from thy sublime height turn upon me thine eyes of pity. Filled with confidence in thy goodness and knowing full well thy power, I beseech thee to extend to. me thine assistance in the journey of life, which is so full of dangers for my soul. And in order that I may never be the slave of the devil through sin, , but may ever live with my heart humble and pure, I entrust myself wholly to thee. I consecrate my heart to thee for ever, my only desire being to love thy divine Son Jesus. Mary, none of thy devout servants has ever perished; may I too be saved. Amen.
PRAYER OF PRAISE
O pure and immaculate and likewise blessed Virgin, who art the sinless Mother of thy Son, the mighty Lord of the universe, thou who art inviolate and altogether holy, the hope of the hopeless and sinful, we sing thy praises. We bless thee, as full of every grace, thou who didst bear the God-Man: we all bow low before thee; we invoke thee and implore thine aid. Rescue us, 0 holy and inviolate Virgin, from every necessity that presses upon us and from all the temptations of the devil. Be our intercessor and advocate at the hour of death and judgment; deliver us from the fire that is not extinguished and from the outer darkness; make us worthy of the glory of thy Son, O dearest and most clement Virgin Mother. Thou indeed art our only hope, most sure and sacred in God's sight, to whom be honor and glory, majesty and dominion for ever and ever world without end. Amen.
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
PRAYER OF POPE PIUS XII
This prayer, dedicated to Mary Immaculate, was composed by the Pope for the Marian Year (December 8, 1953-December 8, 1954), which was proclaimed to mark the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty, and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms, 0 Immacuate Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary, confident of finding in your most loving heart appeasement of our ardent desires, and a safe harbor from the tempests which beset us on every side.
Though degraded by our faults and overwhelmed by infinite misery, we admire and praise the peerless richness of sublime gifts with which God has filled you, above every other mere creature, from the first moment of your conception until the day on which, after your assumption into heaven, He crowned you Queen of the Universe.
O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths! O fragrant Lily of all holiness, captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume! 0 Conqueress of evil and death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God, hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart. Bend tenderly over our aching wounds. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatreds, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity in youth, protect the holy Church, make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness. In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that they are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family, upon which may there shine forth the sun of a universal and sincere peace.
Receive, O most sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day, happy with you, we may repeat before your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars: You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, you are the joy, you are the honor of our people! Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
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From: 1 John 2:3-11
Keeping the Commandments
[3] And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his com-
mandments. [4] He who says "I know him" but disobeys his command-
ments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; [5] but whoever keeps his
word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may be sure
that we are in him: [6] he who says he abides in him ought to walk in
the same way in which he walked.
[7] Beloved, I am writing to you no new commandment, but an old com-
mandment which you had from the beginning; the old commandment is
the world which you have heard. [8] Yet I am writing you a new com-
mandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is
passing away and the true light is already shining. [9] He who says he
is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still. [10] He who
loves his brother abides in the light, and in it there is no cause for
stumbling. [11] But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and
walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because
the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Commentary:
3-6. "By this we may be sure": a phrase that occurs often in this letter
(cf., e.g., 2:5, 18; 3:19, 24), usually to preface clear criteria for distin-
guishing doctrinal and moral truth from error. In this instance, it has to
do with keeping the commandments being a sign of true knowledge of
God.
For St John, knowing God is not a merely intellectual exercise nor does
he mean that the immensity of God can be grasped by man's limited
understanding. It refers to something much simpler and more important:
knowing God means being united to him by faith and love--by grace. If
this letter puts so much emphasis on knowing God (cf., e.g., 2:14; 3:1;
4:6-8; 5:20) or knowing Jesus Christ (cf. 2:13-14; 3:6), it may be be-
cause the heretics (particularly the Gnostics) were boasting of having
attained special knowledge of God, superior to that of ordinary faithful.
And so the Apostle describes what true knowledge of God consists in,
using expressions which complement one another -- knowing him (v.
4); in him who knows God "truly love for God is perfected" (v. 5); abi-
ding in him (v. 6).
"Keeping his commandments" (vv. 3 and 4), "Keeping his word" (v. 5),
"walking in the same way in which he walked" (v. 6): keeping the
commandments is absolutely necessary, because there is no room for
faith without works (cf. 1 Jn 3:17-18; Jas 2:14ff; Gal 5:6). Similarly, one
must keep the word of God, that is, accept all revelation docilely (an
idea found very often in John: cf., e.g., Jn 5:38; 8:31, 51; 1 Jn 2:14).
But, above all, Christians must identify their life with Christ's; St Pros-
per comments: "Walk as he walked: does that not mean giving up the
comforts he gave up, not being afraid of the kind of trials he bore, tea-
ching what he taught [...], persevering in helping even those who show
no appreciation, praying for one's enemies, being kind to evildoers,
serenely tolerating the proud?" ("De Vita Contemplativa", 2, 21).
7-8. In a play of words, St John draw his readers' attention to the com-
mandment of brotherly love, which he does on to describe in vv. 9-11.
It is, he says, an old commandment (v. 7) and at the same time a new
one (v. 8). Old, because Christianity and charity are inseparable and
that is something the faithful have known "from the beginning", that is,
since they first received instruction; in some way, it can be said that
it is even pre-Christian, because it is impressed on the heart of man.
Yet it is new, because it is not out of date and has become a reality in
Christ and in Christians. The novelty lies not in the precept (which is
to be found in the Old Testament: cf. Lev 19:18) but in the standard
which Jesus sets ("even as I have loved you": Jn 13:34) and in the fact
that it covers everyone: we must love everyone, friends and enemies,
without distinction of race, or ideology, or social status (cf. note on
Jn 13:34-35).
Moreover, Christian love is not limited to seeking the earthly happiness
of others, but tries to lead all to faith and holiness: "What is perfection
in love?" St Augustine asks. "Loving our enemies and loving them so
that they may be converted into brothers. Our love should not be a ma-
terial one. Wishing someone temporal well-being is good; but, even if
he does not have that, his soul should be secured [...]. It is uncertain
whether this life is useful or useless to someone; whereas life in God
is always useful. Therefore, love your enemies in such a way that they
become your brother; love them in such a way that you attract them to
fellowship with yourself in the Church" ("In Epist. Ioann. ad Parthos",
1, 9).
9-11. In the special style of this letter, an application is made of the
new commandment, possibly to counter false teachers, who despised
the ordinary faithful and were sowing discord among the Christians.
The rhythm of the language--hate, love, hate--in which the positive idea
is placed between two opposed ideas, highlights the importance of bro-
therly love.
"The principal apostolate we Christians must carry out in the world,"
Monsignor Escriva writes, "and the best witness we can give of our
faith, is to help bring about a climate of genuine charity within the
Church. For who indeed could feel attracted to the Gospel if those
who say they preach the Good News do not really love one another,
but spend their time attacking one another, spreading slander and
quarrelling?
"It is all too easy, and very fashionable, to say that you love everyone,
Christians and non-Christians alike. But if those who maintain this ill-
treat their brothers in the faith, I don't see how their behavior can be
anything but 'pious hypocrisy'. By contrast, when in the Heart of Christ
we love those 'who are children of the same Father, and with us share
the same faith and heirs to the same hope' (Minucius Felix, "Octavius",
31), then our hearts expand and become fired with a longing to bring
everyone closer to our Lord" ("Friends of God", 226).
Light/darkness: the action which began at 1:5 ("God is light") ends
with the repetition of this contrasting imagery.
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.