“The Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the omnipotent God, in consideration of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind was preserved from all stain of original sin” (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, Denzinger n. 1641)

In Catholic tradition, December is the first month of the Liturgical year. We begin the year in anticipation of the coming of the Christ Child, pondering with wonder all that His birth signifies. Sacred Scripture tells us that the sign of the coming of the Savior is the Virgin (Isaiah 7:14). This Virgin is the Mother of God and the Ark of the New Covenant. As we consider the Blessed Virgin Mary and what manner of creature she must be who carried God in her womb, we are moved to love and venerate her as the Immaculate.  

Since the inception of the Church, many of the Fathers were convinced of the total purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the earliest writings of the saints, she is extolled as the new Eve. Whereas the first Eve was created without original sin but brought destruction to mankind through willful disobedience, the Blessed Virgin was also brought into existence without the stain of original sin bringing restoration through her complete, continual, and selfless obedience to God. 

We want to explore the dedication of December to the Immaculate Conception, see what the saints reveal about this truth, and discover ways we can grow in our devotion to Our Lady. 

Why is December Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception?

In recent times with the Truths of the Faith attacked from all sides, the Church has seen fit to strengthen the faithful by dedicating each month to a particular devotion, further grounding us in our faith with the passing of time. For December that devotion is the Immaculate Conception. 

The understanding of Our Lady’s preservation from original sin developed through the centuries by authoritative texts, Church councils, and popular devotion among the faithful, so that by the late 15th century Pope Sixtus IV established the official feast and Mass of the Immaculate Conception. The date of December 8th was fittingly selected, as it was exactly nine months before Mary’s Nativity on September 8th.

Nearly 350 years after the feast was established, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Catherine Laboure giving her a detailed vision of the Miraculous Medal that she wanted struck and distributed. She promised great graces to all who wore the medal upon which was to be written the prayer – O, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.”  Many miracles were attached to the wearing of the Miraculous Medal, which gave further proof of the Immaculate Conception. 

With this great sign from heaven along with strong encouragement from religious and faithful alike, Pope Pius IX, who held a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin himself, established the Immaculate Conception as an irreversible dogma of the Faith on December 8, 1854 (Ineffabilis Deus, Denzinger n. 1641). Less than four years later, in the apparition to St. Bernadette, Our Lady of Lourdes identified herself as “The Immaculate Conception,” yet another confirmation from heaven. 

Although December is the month of the birth of Our Lord, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a fitting precursor, reminding us that there could be no impurity admitted into the Ark that carried Jesus for 9 months before His birth. Thus, the entire month came to be dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, honoring the spotless purity of both the Mother and the Son. 

Devotion throughout December allows Catholics to deepen their understanding of this Truth and honor Mary as the highest example of mankind’s purpose fulfilled – to be united to God in perfect purity and to do the will of God with perfect obedience, perfect humility, and perfect love. 

Key Catholic Feast Days in December

December is a month rich in liturgical celebrations. Some of the notable feast days in December include:

• The Feast of St. Nicolas, December 6, celebrates one of the fathers of the Church who fiercely defended the Faith against the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. By his defense along with the other bishops at the Council of Nicea, it was made clear that Mary is the Mother of God. 
• The Feast of St. Ambrose, December 7, honors an early doctor of the Church who also stood against Arianism and studied the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, asserting Christ’s divinity and Mary’s purity. 
• The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, is a Holy Day of Obligation that celebrates Mary Immaculate, pure and spotless from the moment of her conception.  
• The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12, commemorates the apparition in 1532 of the Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego, an indigenous Catholic of Mexico. A miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma and was the source of conversion for millions of native people. This image still exists for all to see and venerate nearly 500 years later.  
• The Nativity of our Lord, December 25, celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. The Incarnation and birth of Christ revealed God’s love for humanity through His identification with humankind. He gained this human nature through His Mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  
• The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, December 31, encourages Catholics to seek inspiration and guidance from the purity of the Holy Family as they navigate their own family lives.
• St. John the Evangelist, December 27, commemorates the beloved apostle of Jesus and the one to whom Jesus entrusted His Mother, the Virgin Mary.

Catholic Saints and the Immaculate Conception

Countless saints, Fathers, and Doctors of the Church firmly believed in Mary’s perfect sinlessness and laid the groundwork for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, or confirmed it through their writings and devotions. 

• St. Ephraem the Syrian of the 4th century had these words to say about the exalted privilege of the Blessed Virgin. “Most holy Lady, Mother of God, alone most pure in soul and body, alone exceeding all perfection of purity …., alone made in thy entirety the home of all the graces of the Most Holy Spirit, and hence exceeding beyond all compare even the angelic virtues in purity and sanctity of soul and body . . . . my Lady most holy, all-pure, all-immaculate, all-stainless, all-undefiled, all-incorrupt, all-inviolate spotless robe of Him Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment . . . flower unfading, purple woven by God, alone most immaculate” (“Precationes ad Deiparam” in Opp. Graec. Lat., III, 524-37 as cited in https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm).

The following three saints are quoted in The Glories of Mary, by St. Alphonsus Liguori, who wholeheartedly agreed with their assessment of Our Lady’s spotless purity from her conception. 

• St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church wrote of Our Lady’s purity: “Since the devil is the head of original sin, this head it was that Mary crushed: for sin never had any entry into the soul of this Blessed Virgin, which was consequently free from all stain” (Liguori 361).
• St. John Damascene, also known as St. John of Damascus, was a prominent theologian and defender of the faith against the prominent heresies of his day. He, too, a Doctor of the Church firmly attested to the sinlessness of Mary:  “. . . our Lord had preserved the soul, together with the body of the Blessed Virgin, in that purity which became her who was to receive a God into her womb; for, as he is holy, he only reposes in holy places” (et al. 365).
• St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church devoted to the Blessed Virgin held that Our Lady was free from original sin stating, “It was becoming that the Blessed Virgin Mary, by whom our shame was to be blotted out, and by whom the devil was to be conquered, should never, even for a moment, have been under his dominion” (et al. 361). 
• Blessed Duns Scotus argued for the truth of the Immaculate Conception from the standpoint of “pre-redemption” and was very influential in the doctrinal development of the Immaculate Conception. Scotus is cited in the Catholic Catechism, by John A. Hardon, S.J. “Now Christ is the most perfect mediator and he had no more exalted relation to any person than to the Blessed Virgin Mary. . . . This could not be if he had not merited for her preservation from original sin” (153).
• Blessed Stanislaus Papczynski, priest and founder of a Marian order of priests made his oath in 1669 in the presence of his current superiors: “I offer and consecrate to God… as well as to the Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary conceived without sin, my heart, my soul and my body, leaving absolutely nothing for myself… I vow to serve them zealously, in chastity, to the end of my life, in the Society of Marian Clerks of the Immaculate Conception, which by the grace of God I wish to found”. His order is still active today and the priests identify as the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, MIC (“Bl. Stanislaus Papczynski (1631-1701) – Biography” The Holy See)

7 Ways to Grow in Devotion to the Immaculate Conception this December

Here are a few steps to help us dedicate December to the Immaculate Conception.

1. Pray a Novena to the Immaculate Conception.
2. Meditate on Our Lady’s perfect conformity to the will of God from her conception.
3. Spend time reflecting on our Baptism and the gift of being cleansed of original sin. 
4. Go to Confession weekly or every other week. 
5. Make an act of Consecration to Mary (see below)
6. Display an image of the Immaculate Conception in our homes and invoke Our Lady to help us grow in love for God and His will.  
7. Pay attention to the media we consume, striving to keep our hearts and minds pure, and by God’s grace live according to the admonition in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” 

Further Reading on the Immaculate Conception

Several books provide valuable insights for those interested in deepening their understanding of this devotion. 

• On the Immaculate Conception, by Pope St. Pius X, explains the proclamation of the Magisterium as a truth revealed by God that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was free from all stains of original sin.
• A Retreat on the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Cadoc D. Leighton Opraem, is a retreat that guides us to a deeper knowledge of how the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady lies at the dawn of our salvation in Christ. 
• Saint Catherine Laboure of the Miraculous Medal, by Fr. Joseph I. Dirvin, is a biography of St. Catherine Laboure, the story of the Miraculous Medal, and how it contributed to the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
• See How She Loves Us: 50 Approved Apparitions of Our Lady, by Joan Caroll Cruz. A collection of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to inform and inspire us to greater zeal.

Prayers Honoring the Immaculate Conception

A Prayer 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 danger 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.

Act of Trust in the Immaculate, St. Maximilian Kolbe

Dearest Mother, deign to do with me whatever is pleasing to You for the greatest glory of God. I am Yours, my dearest Immaculate Mother.You see how miserable I am, walking along the edge of a precipice, full of self-love. If You release me from Your immaculate hands for even only one instant, I will be the first to fall into the most grievous sins and into the bottom of hell. But if You do not let go of me (although this is something of which I am completely unworthy) and will lead me, I will surely not fall and I will become a Saint, a great Saint.

Act of Consecration to Mary, St. Louis de Monfort

I, ________________ , a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.

In Union with Mary

The Church in Her wisdom has provided myriad prayers, devotions, catechisms, and saintly writings to help us learn and grow in our Faith. The monthly devotions are part of this encouragement. With Advent upon us this month, let us ponder with the Blessed Mother how her role as the Mother of God makes evident the truth of her Immaculate Conception. This Queen Mother, crowned by the Blessed Trinity is also our Mother and her love for us is pure and selfless. She provides the crystal-clear path to her Son, and if we consecrate our hearts to her, she will share her virtues with us so that by her intercession, we may do His will in union with Mary.