Hail Mary Full of Grace: - Our Lady of...

Hail Mary Full of Grace:What Does the Immaculate Conception Mean for Us Today?By Leota Roesch

PurposeWe venerate Mary under many titles. Under the title of the Immaculate Conception, she is the Patroness of the United States. This session explains the doctrine to the participants and helps them understand the role of grace in their own lives.

Component: Catechesis

Session at a Glance7:00 p.m. Welcome, Introduction, and Prayer7:15 p.m. What is the Immaculate Conception?7:25 p.m. A Short History Lesson: The Immaculate Conception as

Patroness of the United States7:30 p.m. Amazing Grace: The Immaculate Conception in Our Lives8:00 p.m. Advent and the Immaculate Conception8:20 p.m. Closing Prayer, Announcements8:30 p.m. Good Night!

Extend the Session IdeasConsider one or more of the ideas to extend this session:

1. Movie and Discussion. View a movie presentation of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette. Bernadette Soubirous had her first vision of the Blessed Virgin at age 14 in February 1858 in the little Pyrenees town of Lourdes. Over the course of little more than a month (February 11 through March 25, 1858), she had had 18 visions that culminated in the Lady’s revelation that she was the Immaculate Conception. This was four years after Pope Pius IX declared infallibly the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. (Leaders might want to check with diocesan multimedia libraries to see if the movie is available.) Check Wikipedia for helpful and easy-to-use information on Our Lady of Lourdes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Lourdes.

Option 1: The popular movie telling her story, The Song of Bernadette, from the 1940’s is now available in DVD format. While somewhat dated, it is still hailed as a major religious film and faithfully tells Bernadette’s story. (You can download various

Hail Mary Full of Grace: What Does the Immaculate Conception Mean for Us Today?Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012.

https://sites.google.com/site/newmoviesforyouonlinee/Download-The-Song-of-Bernadette-DVD-Quality-Movie-Now

http://www.amazon.com/The-Song-Bernadette-Jennifer-Jones/dp/B00008LDO7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342411899&sr=8-1&keywords=song++of+bernadette

http://www.amazon.com/The-Song-Bernadette-Jennifer-Jones/dp/B00008LDO7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342411899&sr=8-1&keywords=song++of+bernadette

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Lourdes

modes of this movie for viewing, but the author cannot verify the reliability of this site.)Option 2: Bernadette , a newer movie made on the 150th anniversary of the appearances of Mary to Bernadette at Lourdes, is also now available on DVD in the American format; it also has garnered very good reviews.

Whichever movie you choose, view it for yourself and decide on the scenes you wish to show to the participants.

Ask questions to help participants engage with this saint who is so closely associated with the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Before the movie scenes are shown you might ask:

o Are there any girls in here who chose St. Bernadette as your confirmation name? (If there are, ask why they chose her as their patron.) What do any of you know about the story of St. Bernadette of Lourdes?

Set up the scenes by giving a brief summary of the story up to the point you have chosen.

After the participants have viewed the movie, ask (depending on the scenes you have chosen) questions that go to a summary of the movie, Bernadette’s experience of the vision, her family, friends, and the church’s reaction to what she says she experiences, the participants’ response to Bernadette’s struggle, how she grew in her own faith through both the visions and her struggle, how she lived her life after the visions, what they thought of how she died, etc.

Conclude with a summation of the saint’s life. For example, you will find good information at Biography Online or at Catholic Online.

2. Make Moravian Spice Cookies. In some countries, there is a tradition of making these cookies for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. If you have access to a kitchen, bake cookies for the parish’s enjoyment after the Vigil or Evening Mass of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. See Resource 2, Moravian Cookies for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Because the dough must be made and refrigerated for at least 24 hours, you will want to make the dough the day before. Perhaps there is a group of participants who would make the dough under the supervision of adults from the parish. Or perhaps there is a ladies group in the parish who will make the dough for your group.

At your session, participants will need to roll out the dough, cut it into heart shapes (collect heart shaped cookie cutters—as many as needed), bake, cool, and frost, decorate with


http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=147

http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/bernadette-soubirious.html

http://www.amazon.com/Bernadette-Special-150th-Anniversary-Edition/dp/B000MTEGSG/ref=pd_cp_mov_0

symbols of Mary (if wished), pack and store for the Immaculate Conception Masses.

Assign the group times to serve the parish after the Masses. You may also want to serve a beverage with the cookies. Some of the group could decorate the parish setting for the gathering after the Mass.

Another group may want to prepare little cards to give to the parishioners about the feast, or they may want to create “holy cards” of the Immaculate Conception for those who come for refreshments, or cards that have the cookie recipe on it to give out, etc.

Make sure that you give the parish advance notice of what the youth are doing by advertising in the bulletin, making announcements from the pulpit, etc.

3. A Virtual Tour of the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the largest Roman Catholic Church in the United States and North America, and is one of the ten largest churches in the world.

In 1846, an excerpt from a Massachusetts newspaper told of ‘a magnificent Catholic church [to] be built at Washington, D.C. after the manner of the great cathedrals of the Old World from subscriptions of every Catholic Parish in America.’

Spanning the late 19th, 20th and now 21st century, American Catholics would indeed build a sanctuary that rivals those of Europe and the world, not only in size but in stature as well—in sacred art, architecture, history and heritage.

Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, the Basilica is the nation’s preeminent Marian shrine. With over 70 chapels and oratories that relate to the peoples, cultures and traditions that are the tapestry of the Catholic faith and the mosaic of our great nation, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is indeed, America’s Catholic church.”

The Shrine offers an online virtual tour of the Basilica. Take the participants on this tour in order to introduce them to this part of the religious history of our nation.

Materials Needed Nametags/markers Materials for prayer setting o Small table covered with a nice cloth

o Candle, cross or crucifix or picture of the Immaculate Conception as focal point

o BibleHail Mary Full of Grace: What Does the Immaculate Conception Mean for Us Today?

Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012.

http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.5947909/k.A2AD/Virtual_Tours.htm

Bibles for participants, one per participant Handout, one for each participant Two 3x5 index cards for each participant

Prayer/Holy card of the Immaculate Conception (Printery House is one option), optional

Pencil or pen, one for each participant Resource 3, Titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one copy for session leader Newsprint Markers

Extend the Session: Movie and Discussion Computer and projector to show films on DVD or online Television or projector and DVD player

Note to Leader: Your audio/visual set up needs to be adequate for everyone to be able to hear/see the movie clips.

Extend the Session: Bake Moravian Cookies Resource 2, Moravian Cookies

Extend the Session: Virtual Tour Computer and projector to show films on DVD or online Television or projector and DVD player

Note to Leader: Your audio/visual set up needs to be adequate for everyone to be able to hear/see the movie clips.

Prepare in Advance1. Prepare by familiarizing yourself with information from the Catechism of

the Catholic Church on the Immaculate Conception (see Resource 1).

2. Prepare a sheet of newsprint with the song, “Immaculate Mary.” Use this for the closing prayer.

Immaculate MaryImmaculate Mary, your praises we sing.You reign now in heaven with Jesus our King.

RefrainAve, Ave, Ave, Maria!Ave, Ave, Maria!

In heaven the blessed your glory proclaim;On earth we your children invoke your fair name.

We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,And bless, Holy Mary, the land of our birth.


http://www.printeryhouse.org/ProdPage.asp?prod=HC02

3. Consider inviting a participant to be the prayer leader for the closing prayer. Invite a participant to proclaim the Scripture reading in the closing prayer.

4. Prepare the prayer space using the materials mentioned above.

5. Set up tables and chairs for small group work. Set up tables for refreshments and sign-in. Have one or two people at the sign-in table with a check-in sheet and nametags. Hospitality is important: As the leader, do not use the gathering time before the session begins to take care of last-minute preparations. Spend the time moving among the participants, greeting and speaking with them.

Session OutlineWelcome, Introduction, and Prayer (15 minutes)Welcome the participants. As a warm up activity, give the participants each a 3x5 index card and a pencil. Explain that you will give them 60 seconds to write down as many “names” of the Blessed Virgin as they can. Call time and read the titles from the Resource 3, Titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking participants to check off the titles they have. Ask for titles that they might have that you do not and make a determination of whether or not you will accept the additional titles. If you decided to distribute prayer cards, do so now. Continue:

This evening we are going to spend some time looking at the teaching about a Blessed Virgin Mary which we call the Immaculate Conception. I am sure you have often heard of this doctrine which we celebrate each December 8, but you may not know what it actually means for the Church, for us. Tonight we will gain a deeper understanding of this teaching of our faith.

Let us take a moment now to recollect our thoughts and focus in prayer on the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, and the Mother of the Church.

Ask participants to put away anything in front of them that might distract them from prayer.

Prayer Leader: (begin with the Sign of the Cross)

We will take time now to offer prayers of intercession

Let us praise God, who wished that Mary be celebrated by each generation. Our response is Mary, full of grace, pray for us.

O God, worker of miracles, you made the immaculate Virgin Mary share, body and soul, in your Son’s glory in heaven, direct our hearts to that same glory. We pray: Mary, full of grace, pray for us.


You made Mary our mother. Through her prayer grant strength to the weak, comfort to the sorrowing, pardon to sinners, salvation and peace to all. We pray: Mary, full of grace, pray for us.

You made Mary the mother of mercy, may all who are faced with trials feel her motherly love. We pray: Mary, full of grace, pray for us.You prepared the Blessed Virgin to be the mother of your son by letting her share beforehand in the salvation brought by his passion, death, and resurrection. May we, like her, lead lives worthy of such a gift.1 We pray: Mary, full of grace, pray for us.

What is the Immaculate Conception? (10 minutes)Note to Leader: Begin by asking the participants what they may already know about the Immaculate Conception. Invite them to share in the large group and make note of their input on newsprint or board, coming back to what they share after your presentation.

Then continue:We come into this world in less than saintly condition; we are born with sin. This inherited condition of sin is defined as original sin. Adam and Eve were clothed with God’s love and grace and were meant to live in this state of happiness for all their lives. Their choice to sin resulted in the broken state in which the world and we find ourselves. We see great evil in our world, and pain, suffering, and death are everywhere around us.

The church believes and teaches that only two people were ever conceived without original sin. One, of course, was Jesus. The other was his mother, Mary. On December 8, the church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception to celebrate Mary’s conception and birth without sin.

Tradition has also played a role in the development of this feast. Besides the truth of the Bible, God continues to reveal Godself and the mystery of salvation through the lived experience of Christians, generation after generation. This ongoing interpretation and understanding of God's revelation is called Tradition. As Catholics, we believe that the pope and bishops have received the teaching authority of the apostles to interpret and protect the Church’s Tradition.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception shows how the beliefs of God’s people led to the declaration of a church dogma.

From the earliest centuries, writings of the Church Fathers taught that Mary was free from original sin.

In our Eastern Churches, this feast was originally and very early on called the “Conception of St. Anne,” meaning that St. Anne had conceived Mary.

Devotion to the belief grew over the centuries, especially through the influence of religious orders like the Franciscans and Carmelites.

In the fifteenth century, Pope Sixtus IV allowed the whole church to celebrate the Immaculate Conception, but he did not require the feast to be celebrated.

Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX elevated the feast to its highest rank when he declared it a dogma of faith (meaning that, in the hierarchy of truth, this

1 Adapted from Evening Prayer I, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Liturgy of the Hours.Hail Mary Full of Grace: What Does the Immaculate Conception Mean for Us Today?

Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012.

teaching must be believed by us) that Mary was conceived without original sin. He wrote:

“The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” (Ineffablis Deus)

So the Church teaches that Mary was preserved from original sin by the foreseen merits of Jesus, her son and her redeemer. Mary is, therefore, the first person redeemed, the first Christian, the first disciple; she is perfectly redeemed in every way—body and soul.

In the appearances to St. Bernadette of Lourdes, France, in 1858, the Lady who appeared to her eventually identified herself by saying, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Coming so soon after the papal declaration on Mary’s being conceived without original sin, we can view the apparitions and revelation at Lourdes as an affirmation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

This belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary has also roots in the Bible, for the angel Gabriel revealed at the annunciation of Jesus’ birth that Mary was “full of grace.”

Before we look at what it meant for Mary to be “full of grace” and what a life of grace means for us, we’ll look first at the connection between the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic Church in the United States.

A History Lesson: The Immaculate Conception as Patroness of the United States (5 minutes)

Mary Immaculate was officially declared the patroness of the United States in 1847.

A year earlier, the bishops had written to the Catholics of this country and said:

“We take this occasion to communicate to you the determination, unanimously adopted by us, to place ourselves and all entrusted to our charge throughout the United States under the special patronage of the holy Mother of God, whose Immaculate Conception is venerated by the piety of the faithful throughout the Catholic Church….”

A patron is someone who takes responsibility for another, who protects another. As Catholics, we rely on patron saints not only to inspire our lives by their example but also to pray for us and protect us in our life. A patron looks out for us, sometimes in ways we don’t always recognize. This was the role that our first bishops envisioned for our Blessed Mother when they dedicated our country to her under the title of the Immaculate Conception.

“The meaning of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary was always totally dependent on God, that her mission in life was given to her, and that she never did anything on her own but always did things God’s way. Never touched by sin, nothing in her resisted God’s will for her and for the salvation of the world through her Son.


Of the few words attributed to her in the Gospels, the most basic is, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” From this free decision on her part flows her instruction to the servants at the wedding feast of Cana, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’Mary Immaculate is our patroness. She speaks to us of God’s initiative in her life and ours; she witnesses to the primacy of grace in her life and ours. She tells us, proud of our own initiatives, to do it God’s way.”2

Let us take a few moments now to list those qualities of Mary’s life that our first bishops wanted to see imitated in ours. Let us pray for an increase in grace in our own lives in order to more perfectly conform our lives to the life of Christ as his Mother did.

Note to Leader: Invite the participants to list out loud the qualities of Mary that they would want to imitate in their own lives and write them on a sheet of newsprint. Leave them there for comparison at the end of the next part.

Amazing Grace: The Immaculate Conception in Our Lives (30 minutes)We said earlier that the scriptural basis for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception can be found in Gabriel’s greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28.

And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (NAB)

And the angel being come in, said unto her: ”Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Douay-Rheims, in this we recognize our Catholic prayer, the Hail Mary.)

Sometimes we hear the angelic greeting rendered, “Rejoice, O highly favored one”.

All of the biblical translations are dealing with the Greek words, chaire kecharitōmĕnē.

Note to Leader: It is sufficient to say that the biblical greeting commonly translated “Hail Mary, full of Grace” comes from two Greek words in Luke that greet Mary (“Hail”) and give her a “title” (“full of grace”). The following information may be used if you wish.

[Kecharitomene] The Greek word in the Bible has to do with God’s grace, because it is derived from a Greek root which means “grace”.

What does it mean for Mary to be “full of grace”? In the beginning, we learned what the doctrine of the Church says it means—that Mary was conceived and was born without sin. But that explanation is only a part of the story of Mary’s life. “Without sin” is the doctrinal way to look at it, but “full of grace” gives us a biblical picture. Grace, we know, is God’s life in us. It is grace that makes it possible for us to live as God’s children, to discern, and to follow God’s will for us.

2 Francis Cardinal George, OMI. Copyright © 2004 Archdiocese of Chicago, from Clip Art for Parish Life, Liturgy Training Publications.


Gabriel’s declaration that Mary is “full of grace” comes before he even announces her role in the economy of salvation as the Mother of the Messiah: that from the moment of her own conception she was filled with grace by God.

Grace, then, and her cooperation with it, makes Mary “blessed.” This amazing and undeserved gift of God, the life of the Trinity in her, enabled our Blessed Mother to live daily fully aware of God’s love!

Let us take a look at Mary’s life in the Gospel of Luke to see how she lived a life “full of grace.”

We first encounter Mary in the beginning of Luke’s gospel, when the angel Gabriel announces that she is to be the Mother of God.

Invite participants to either read the Scripture verses silently and look for the effect of grace exhibited in Mary’s words or actions or invite one participant to read the verse and then, in small groups decide on what her graced response is. Allow them to name the effect of grace, and then incorporate their response as you offer an explanation. Consider giving each small group one of the passages listed below to consider.

Luke 1:28-29 – Her instinct is one of being “greatly troubled.” In her reaction, we see the first instance of Mary’s unassuming faith in God. A true daughter of Israel who knows of the prophecies bearing on the birth of the Messiah, she cannot believe that she would be chosen by God.

Luke 1:30-34 – Her relationship with God, even at a young age, having lived a life of faithfulness to the Jewish law, allows her to question God, not because she is opposed to God’s will, but because she wants to say, “Yes,” with all of her being—with her free will.

Luke 1:35–38 – Mary listens to all that the angel tells her what will happen to her and through her and what it will mean for the salvation of the word, and she puts her troubled mind and her questions aside and says, “Yes.” Mary is completely obedient to God’s will for her, even though she does not and cannot possibly know what that response will mean for her life. Her trust in God is fearless, and it will shape her life.

Luke 1:39ff – Mary hears the news of the pregnancy with which her cousin Elizabeth has been blessed. She immediately puts aside all concerns about her own life on hold, and leaves to visit and take care of her elderly cousin until she gives birth. Her compassion is based in her faith in God and her devotion to God’s will. All of this comes to her and marks her life because it is the result of the grace of God within her with which she has cooperated her entire life. She continues to be patient as she listens for and discerns God’s will in her life.

Luke 1:45-55 – In Mary’s great hymn of praise and thanksgiving, the Magnificat, we find that the life of grace, the life of God within her leads to gratefulness, joy, humility, praise of God, faithfulness, and a great concern for the poor and marginated.

Ask the participants if they heard anything else in the Scripture that would describe Mary’s life of grace. Compare their list with your sharing and the list that they created in the first part of the evening.

Then give each participant a 3x5 index card and pencil or pen and invite them to write down three of the Marian qualities that they want to imitate in


their own lives. Invite them to put the card in their Bible, or purse, or billfold, for example, or to tape it inside their lockers to remind them of how our Patroness, Mary Immaculate, wants us to imitate her Son in our lives.

Advent and the Immaculate Conception (20 minutes)

During Advent, as we prepare for the birth of Christ, we also celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. It is not only a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary but a foretaste of our own redemption.

In keeping the Blessed Virgin free from the stain of sin from the moment of her conception, as we have learned tonight, God gave us an example of what humankind was meant to be. Mary is truly the second Eve, because, like Eve, she entered the world without sin. Unlike Eve she lived her entire life dedicated fully to the will of God.

The Incarnation of Christ and our salvation is due to Mary’s graced “Yes” at the Annunciation. The Immaculate Conception was not a precondition for Christ’s act of redemption but the result of it. Standing outside of time, God knew that Mary would humbly submit herself to his will, and in his love for this perfect servant, he applied to her at the moment of her conception the redemption, won by Christ, that we received at our baptism.

This feast and the truth it celebrates, coming as it does, at the beginning of Advent helps us prepare in patience for the coming of Christ into our own lives. Mary had a special mission in the redemption of humankind. So God created her as a “fitting dwelling place” for his son Jesus. When Gabriel announced to Mary’s God’s will for her, that she would be the mother of the Christ, the Evangelist, Luke, wanted the community he was writing for to understand that they were also to give birth to Christ in their hearts, in their families, and their community, so that Christ’s life could come to fullness in them and the world in which they found themselves. We wait in patience and in joy for Christ to come to us so that we can give birth to him in the world around us.

Mention that this feast is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics in the United States. Besides stressing what that means, it is important to underscore that we do not participate in Mass on this or any holy day ONLY out of obligation, but because we want to celebrate with the community the great gift of Mary’s Immaculate Conception and its meaning in our life.


Prayer Experience: I Say, “Yes,” My Lord (10 minutes)GatherInvite the participants to gather around the prayer table. Sing “Immaculate Mary.”

Prayer Leader: (begin with the Sign of the Cross)

Father,the image of the Virginis found in the Church.Mary had a faith that your Spirit preparedand a love that never knew sin,for you kept her sinlessfrom the moment of her conception.Trace in our actionsthe lines of her love,in our hearts her readiness of faith.Prepare once again a world for your Sonwho lives and reignswith you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(From the former Sacramentary for the feast day)ListenInvite the reader to proclaim Luke 1:26-38. Allow a few moments of quiet after the reading.

RespondPrayer Leader:

We want to let this feast be part of our daily life not just our Advent journey. We pause to give thanks for God's love for us. We thank God for the inspiring role of Mary, for the way she completely says "yes," that we might know God's love more completely. No matter our faith tradition, we can pause today to say, with great meaning, our prayer to Mary:All: Hail Mary, full of grace…

Go ForthPrayer Leader:

Mary Immaculate, we entrust our lives to you. Inspire us to lead lives of gratefulness and praise. May we cooperate with God’s life of grace in us as you did so that we may joyfully say yes to whatever God asks of us for the building up of the Kingdom. Inspire us to act justly and to revere all God has done and made. Root peace firmly in our hearts and in our world. Amen.


Announcements and Refreshments (5 minutes)Thank the youth for their participation in tonight’s session. Make any needed announcements about upcoming programs and events. Invite everyone to enjoy some refreshments.

Websites and links in this session were accessed successfully on August 17, 2012.

This session was written by Leota Roesch, Director of Faith Formation at Resurrection Parish in Tempe, Arizona. Fr. Roy Shelly , Ph.D., pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Spreckels, California, served as theological consultant on this session.


http://www.cmdnet.org/ymaauthors

http://www.cmdnet.org/ymaauthors

Resource 1

Catechism of the Catholic ChurchReferences for the Immaculate Conception

490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.492 The “splendor of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son”. The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”.493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia), and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature”. By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.494 At the announcement that she would give birth to “the Son of the Most High” without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that “with God nothing will be impossible”: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word.” Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God’s grace: As St. Irenaeus says, “Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for

herself and for the whole human race.” Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.” Comparing her with Eve,


they call Mary “the Mother of the living” and frequently claim: “Death through Eve, life through Mary.”


Resource 2

Moravian Cookies for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Also Called: Gingerbread; Moravian Spritz; Kolachi; Moravian Love Cakes

Cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg, which are poetic picture words in the Bible, mean something when your nose is enjoying their “pleasant odor.” Some cultures make Moravian cookies on December 7, the vigil of the Virgin’s feast day, because of the passage in the Book of Sirach 24:20-21 which we ascribe to Mary:

I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatical balm; I yielded a sweet odor like the best myrrh; and I perfumed my dwelling as store, and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odor is as the purest balm.

These cookies give out wonderful smells of spices!

For centuries, bakers in Catholic homes in Austria and Germany have taken a spice dough, rolled it to medium thickness, and cut it into heart shapes — sometimes seven or eight inches wide. Then they ice the hearts with great care and delicacy. Religious and liturgical symbols, pictures and quotations appear among the scrolls on the gingerbread. Each family competes to make theirs more decorative each year. When the hearts stand shining in their sugar and gilt, they are taken a gift from the heart of one family to another. They are expressions of love and charity. They bring the religious meaning of the Incarnation, with all its stupendous import, into a concrete, visible form which neighbors can understand. The gingerbread with all its careful decoration is a work of love in honor of Christ who loved us and his Mother who’s “yes” prepared for his coming.

CookiesDirectionsMix butter, molasses and sugar. Add sifted dry ingredients. Chill until hard (preferably overnight). Roll very thin. Bake in a moderate oven (375°) for six minutes. Cookies may be iced using a simple powdered sugar frosting recipe.

Ingredients ¼ cup melted butter ½ cup warm molasses ¼ cup brown sugar 1-7/8 cups flour 1/3 teaspoon soda

1/3 teaspoon salt 1/3 teaspoon ginger 1/3 teaspoon cloves 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg


1/8 teaspoon allspice


Powdered Sugar Frosting Ingredients

2½ cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 tablespoon softened butter ½ teaspoon vanilla extract food coloring to tint

Prep Time: 5 minutesCook Time: 0 minutesTotal Time: 5 minutes

DirectionsCombine powdered sugar, water, butter, corn syrup and vanilla in mixer bowl, and mix until moist. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add more water, if needed. Color with food coloring, if desired.

Yield: 100 cookiesPrep Time: 1 hour


Resource 3

Titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Our Lady of CharityOur Lady of ConsolationOur Lady of CopacabanaOur Lady of FatimaOur Lady of Good CounselOur Lady of Good HelpOur Lady of GraceOur Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of KnockOur Lady of La LecheOur Lady of La VangOur Lady of LaSalletteOur Lady of LebanonOur Lady of LoretoOur Lady of LourdesOur Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Perpetual HelpOur Lady of PilarOur Lady of Prompt SuccorOur Lady of ProvidenceOur Lady of RansomOur Lady of SorrowsOur Lady of TearsOur Lady of the AssumptionOur Lady of the Holy RosaryOur Lady of the Immaculate ConceptionOur Lady of the Miraculous MedalOur Lady of the Most Holy RosaryOur Lady, Help of ChristiansOur Lady, Mother of the ChurchOur Lady of Victory

There may be other titles of which you are aware.


Hail Mary Full of Grace: - Our Lady of...

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Transcript of Hail Mary Full of Grace: - Our Lady of...