A Different Way to Think about the Immaculate Conception

Do you put Mary on such a pedestal that you feel like you can’t relate to her at all? As we celebrate the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dr. Sri explains the beauty of God’s choice to create Mary without sin and offers several practical ways you can seek Mary’s help in your own quest for holiness.

Please share any traditions that help you celebrate Christmas as a Catholic with Dr. Sri at info@edwardsri.com so that he can include them in next week’s episode!

Snippet from the Show

What God did within Mary in an instant, he wants to do in you throughout a lifetime. Mary is an icon of God’s plan for your holiness.

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Why would God preserve Mary from sin?

• It wasn’t for her own sake that God preserved Mary from sin! The Immaculate Conception of Mary is in fact all about Jesus. This dogma reveals that Jesus is no ordinary child—he’s the all holy, eternal Son of God.
• Mary is like the ark of the covenant, carrying the almighty holy presence of God. In the Old Testament, Jews build the Ark of the Covenant with the best of materials, the purest of gold. It’s most fitting that the God of the universe would choose to dwell in the purest of human vessels—a woman without sin.

What does the Immaculate Conception mean for your spiritual life?

• Everything about Mary shows us what God wants to do in our lives. Mary is full of grace, and God wants to fill us each with grace, too.
• What God wants to do in each of us over time, he did in Mary in an instant. Mary is an icon reminding us of God’s plan for our own holiness.

Two ways to seek grace alongside Mary:

1. Think about a specific sin in your life that you’re really struggling with, and turn to Mary. Say a Hail Mary, and ask her for her help in conquering that sin. “You who are full of grace, pray for me in this weakness.”
2. Reflect on Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39) Imitate her “going in haste” to serve Elizabeth and be in communion with her as they rejoice together in God’s plan. This week, “go in haste” to visit Jesus in the chapel, and “go in haste” to the people who matter most in your life.
   

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

• On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, remember to ask Our Lady’s intercession to bring about a true culture of life in the midst of this culture of death.