08 Dec Luke 1:38 (“may it be done to me”)
Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (website, Facebook).
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 (full readings)
Pat’s Reflections: In today’s Genesis reading, Eve was referred to as the “mother of all the living”…but upon Eve saying yes to Satan, death was allowed into the world. Much like Christ was the new Adam, Mary was the new Eve…and serves as “mother of all the living.” On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, let us celebrate Mary’s “yes, Lord”…and our own mother’s yes to God and Life! Hail Mary, Gentle Woman lyrics (very inspiring).
* When setting up our manger scene, Mary broke. After gluing her back together, she is missing a piece on the top of her head…holiness! This reminded me of the little boy who didn’t get what he wanted for Christmas, so he covered up a statue of Mary, kneeled down, and said, “Lord, if you ever want to see your Mother again…”
* When the devotion auto email does not work, you can access the devotion on the website (posted at 0230 CST). The devotion website now has a RSS news feed sign up (in blue border).
* Check out the LIFE Runners update and TrueManhood post.
Faith Challenge: During Advent, visit a nursing home with your family/friends…ask the elderly about their lives…sing some carols…prepare to be blessed! Also, my extended family is giving our adults Christmas funds to the Alpha Center…please consider this critical need…a true Christmas gift for the Unborn.
Counter-Culture News: LSN, Vatican, AFA, Priests for Life, Live Action
* New video shows Chile’s defense of life doesn’t stop with trapped miners
* Enjoy this amazing Hallelujah song…sure surprised the mall food court!
Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion, Alpha Center, Peters family (JP). View, add, update Prayers on our website. Let’s pray now.
* Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Lk 1:26-38)
Feast Day: Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Faith Quote: “God’s presence in us is the basis of our existence. The road of interiority and contemplation is not for the chosen few, but for every authentic believer.” ~ John Paul II
Through Christ Our Lord,
Pat
Phil 4:13
* Save Unborn (& family): Abortion reality (images)…#1 death cause (23% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 & Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa
* Evangelize:Make room for unbelievers & re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.
Robert Cox
Posted at 7:16 PM, 09 December 2010Greeting all: The Immaculate Conception of Mary is the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain (“macula” in Latin) of Original Sin. Do you know who is the Patron of the United State of America? Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. In 1792, John Carroll, the bishop of Baltimare and America’s first Roman Catholic bishop, also the cousin of our founding Fathers, Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independance; consecrated the newly-created United States under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of The Immaculate Conception. In 1847, Pope Pius IX formalized Carroll’s acclamation, proclaiming the Immaculate Conception as the Patroness of the United States. Seven years later, The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus on 8 December 1854. Four years later it was confirmed and gained additional significance from the reputed apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1858. At Lourdes a 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed that a beautiful woman appeared to her and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. The shrine was started in 1920 and finish in 1959, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. It is the largest Catholic church in the United States, the eighth largest religious structure in the world, and the tallest building in Washington, D.C.