The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, that falls on the 8th of
December, is a perfect time to consider Mary and her important role in the celebration
of Christmas. But what exactly is the Immaculate Conception? And when was it proclaimed?
The dogma dates back to Pope Pius IX's declaration in 1854, that clarified with
finality the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original
sin. This privilege of Our Lady derives from God having chosen her to be the Mother
of Jesus and as such she received the benefits of salvation in Christ from the very
moment of her conception. Benedictine Abbot Timothy Wright reflects on this "most
remarkable and wonderful feast" saying it marks the "moment where God offers a definitive
revelation of his love. " What it means, he goes on to say, "is that the focus of
God's attention .. was to prepare that woman to bear a son, a child, who would transform
everything and in order for that woman to bear such a child, she too had to be uniquely
special." The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is linked not just to Mary's own
birth but also to the later moment when she learns from the Angel Gabriel that she
was to become the mother of Jesus. Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical
Council for Social Communications, looks at the biblical account of the Annunciation
and says this pivotal event reveals Mary's "human reservations and nervousness" about
accepting this invitation and her own realisation that this "will not be a non-problematic
pregnancy in the society in which she lives " and "yet she says 'yes' with great generosity
to the invitation." Listen to this report by Susy Hodges: