Mary, the Mother of Jesus (of God) who we affectionately and personally call “Our Lady” was born fully and completely human and by the Grace of God had the stain of Original Sin, which affects us all – taken away from her.  Why do we accept and believe this?  Why is this important?  And what does it have to do with us?

We accept and believe that Mary was conceived immaculately because her life was given in service to the Lord, from the time she was born, through her childhood, adolescence, young adult and until her dying day, she served God with every virtue given (faith, hope and charity) and every virtue she worked at day by day.  This is important because it brings together the freedom every one of us have been given (to choose to do God’s will or not) and Divine Providence (that Almighty God Himself knows every action and the outcome of a life).  In knowing this, Mary is given (and we are given too) special gifts, in her case because her vocation is best suited by it, she is conceived immaculately.  Mary was fully capable of sinning and we sometimes forget this – but in choosing not to, she responded daily to God.  She responded with an openness and obedience; a faith deepened constantly by trust.

Mary in the truest sense, lived and breathed her vocation.  Mary lived out from beginning to end her life’s purpose!  She is a model Christian, and we can learn a lot from her.  We may not have been conceived immaculately, but then we need to remember that our vocation is no less important to the Lord, or to Our Lady.  We, like her were given gifts from our conception, gifts that we can only know with prayerful self-reflection: not to use for selfish purposes but for self-less giving to God and to others.  Divine Providence is in play in our lives as well; that is, God has a plan and a desire for each one of us and there is something universally and personally important for us to be doing in and with our lives: maybe to be a Priest of Jesus Christ and make present His Sacraments for us all, maybe to be a Religious or Consecrated Sister or Brother and dedicate our lives to service of God and His Church in ways of the utmost importance to salvation, maybe in the Generous Single Life in Christ giving ourselves totally and completely to Christ and His Church and maybe as a devoted Husband or Wife; Mother or Father married to God and to our spouse and building up the Church through the family we love and minister to; creating Holy Families throughout the world.