Digital Marian Helper Winter_2019

H ave you ever found yourself in prayer sheepishly wondering: “Hey God, that’s wonderful that you gave Mary that amazing gift of never having any spot of sin, but, uh … what does that have to do with my life?” You wouldn’t be alone. Many Catholics have at one time or another felt disconnected from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. As in, “Great for you, Mary, but what about us?” Yet the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, the core charism of the Marian Fathers o f the Immaculate Conception, is a gift for all of us. It is the beautiful story of how God’s mercy is stronger than the darkness of the evil one. That mercy, while in full flower within Mary, is the same mercy, in seed form, within us. With the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception coming upon us on Dec. 8, let’s take a moment and break this down. The author and theologian Robert Stackpole, STD, describes our relationship with the Immaculate Conception quite nicely: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the great divine act of grace that lay at the foundation of God’s whole work of salvation through Christ. … And in the fullness of time, this special grace enabled her to receive our Savior into the world. In short, the whole world’s salvation began with a foundational act of unmerited, unprompted, freely given Divine Mercy. That act of mercy was Mary’s Immaculate Conception. By Fr. Andy Davy, MIC Beyond Mount Doom A tale that has a ‘ring’ to it 20 M arian H elper • W inter 2019-20 • marian . org