In Conceptione Immaculata Beatae Mariae Virginis

A Blessed Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Ad Introitum

Isaiah 61:10
Gaudens gaudebo in Domino, et exsultabit anima mea in Deo meo:
quia induit me vestimentis salutis: et indumento iustitiae circumdedit me,
quasi sponsam ornatam monilibus suis.

Psalm 29, 2
Exaltabo te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me:
nec delectasti inimicos meos super me.

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum.

Benedicta es tu, Virgo Maria, a Domino Deo excelso, prae omnibus mulieribus super terram.

A celebration of a dogma that I have always found most interesting. The dogmatic declaration includes:

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that 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, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

A beautiful explanation of the workings of grace by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ. It is an understanding that had been developing for centuries based on the full and complete revelation given in Jesus Christ and directly related to the development of the notion of original sin. Of course, the Western expression of original sin is what has always made this declaration, superficially, a tough pill for the Christians of the Eastern churches to swallow. But it has not been an insurmountable obstacle for those who are willing to dig into the meaning of the theological language used in both the West and the East and, in a sense, translate it. I'm thankful for the exposure I have had in recent years to Eastern Catholics who have helped me understand the Catholic Faith as it is expressed in the East, the same faith that comes to us from Christ and the Apostles.