Day 6 of Shred and The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On December 8th, the church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. This year it falls on Sunday so the observance has been transferred to Monday. (Source: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1223) A feast called the Conception of Mary arose in the Eastern Church in the seventh century. It came to the West in the eighth century. In the 11th century it received its present name, the Immaculate Conception. In the 18th century it became a feast of the universal Church. It is now recognized as a solemnity. In 1854, Pius IX solemnly proclaimed: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant 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.” It took a long time for this doctrine to develop. While many Fathers and Doctors of the Church considered Mary the greatest ...