Dec. 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is a holy day for Catholics and it is also the patronal feast of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Some outside the Catholic Church may ask if we are worshipping Mary. The answer is “No.” We honor Mary because she was chosen by God to carry His Incarnate Son in her womb and give birth to Him on that first Christmas. In order to prepare Mary to carry Jesus within her womb and to be His Mother, she was preserved beforehand from original sin. All of the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve are conceived with original sin which can be washed away in Baptism. Every grace and blessing we honor in Mary, honors and reverences her Son. Since God is outside of time, He can bless Mary with the saving graces of His Passion, Death and Resurrection before it happened in chronological time. God prepared His Mother in this very special way and thus made her a worthy dwelling place.
Come and celebrate this great feast for our university and for all people. Father Burns will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 12:15 p.m. on December 8 in Saint Thomas More Chapel. We hope to see you there!
