Feast Of Immaculate Conception Of The Most Blessed Virgin Mary: A Holy Day Of Obligation For Catholics (PHOTOS)

Click through the slideshow to see famous paintings of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

December 8 is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated in the Roman Catholic and related Christian churches. The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a belief of the Roman Catholic Church, expressing the conviction that the Virgin Mary was free from original sin and filled with sanctifying grace from the moment of her conception in her mother's womb.

People prepare themselves for this day by novenas (an act of devotion where a prayer is said for nine days) and nocturnal vigils. Special prayers and hymns are offered to the Virgin Mary. One of the most popular liturgical prayers said is Tota pulchra es. Inspired by words of praise from the book of Judith and Song of Solomon, the prayer glorifies the Virgin Mary's holiness and beauty:

You are all beautiful, Mary.
and the original stain [of sin] is not in you.
Your clothing is white as snow, and your face is like the sun.
You are all beautiful, Mary.
and the original stain [of sin] is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you give honor to our people.
You are all beautiful, Mary.

The tradition of having a Feast Day for the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was widespread both in the Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic churches since the 7th century. However, it was only in 1854 that Pope Pius IX proclaimed that, "the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by the Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin" (Ineffabilis Deus). Since then, the Feast of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was observed on December 8 and is considered to be a Holy Day of Obligation (days where the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass).

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been famously depicted in paintings for centuries. Typically, a young woman, representing the spirit of Mary, is depicted in a heavenly realm bowing her head to God with the moon underneath her feet and a halo of 12 stars surrounding her head.

Comments

[IrieMoon]

02:04 PM on 12/20/2011

Celebrating the day that Marys mother and father had sex and conceived Mary.


So many religions celebrate such strange things!

[messy]

03:26 PM on 12/23/2011

Every day you have completely voluntary sex is a day for celebration.

[Bruce Barron]

11:45 AM on 01/17/2012

As long as you are married

[Bruce Barron]

11:46 AM on 01/17/2012

Joseph and Mary never had sexual intercourse.

[IrieMoon]

08:01 AM on 01/18/2012

Not even after Jesus was born? They were human ya know. Humans have needs and I highly doubt that Mary and Joseph didn't have a normal life after Jesus was born and even had other children.

Regardless, I was talking about the time when Marys parents had sex and conceived Mary.....that's what this celebration is about.

[3in1]

09:50 AM on 12/20/2011

In what state was Jesus grandma conceived? Or for that matter what about Grandpa? Where do we stop?

[Jahnabi Barooah]

03:18 PM on 12/20/2011

well, they were born normal human beings according to Roman Catholic belief.

[Bruce Barron]

11:45 AM on 01/17/2012

The place to stop is to stop listening to you.

[baydolphins]

09:34 AM on 12/20/2011

this is so confusing...why was mary's adultery ok?

[Jahnabi Barooah]

03:18 PM on 12/20/2011

this is about the virgin mary, the mother of jesus who was born sinless according to this doctrine. i don't understand where adultery comes into the picture.

[Bruce Barron]

11:43 AM on 01/17/2012

As you point out and you are correct.Most,if not all,have no idea of what they are talking about

[John Kelley 1]

03:21 PM on 12/23/2011

Well, technically it was not adultery, because Mary was not yet married when the conception occured. So by the strict legal definition it would be a type of pre-marital, spiritual fornication.

It's interesting that God didn't consider the moral aspect of violating Joseph's bride-to-be. She was already promised to Joseph, so God was clearly intruding into another man's relationship. Though according to the Bible Joseph was fairly accepting of the situation, which was very open minded of him.

In any case, how Jesus of Nazareth was conceived was far less important than the message he brought to the world.

[messy]

03:28 PM on 12/23/2011

Which is "love me or you go to HELL!!!!!"

[adam646l]

12:48 AM on 12/14/2011

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among 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.

[Jahnabi Barooah]

06:32 PM on 12/16/2011

Thank you for sharing the beautiful prayer.

[Z trufflesniffer]

02:03 PM on 12/13/2011

No, Virginia. There wasn't an immaculate conception of a virgin. That's not the way it works. To be explained when you are a few years older.

[messy]

03:29 PM on 12/23/2011

There is immaculate conception of popes!

[fsinsf]

11:14 AM on 12/13/2011

I enjoyed looking at the art slides. In many the Moon is depicted at Mary's feet. The symbology of the Moon and the Triple Goddess antiquates Catholicism. As the crescent the Goddess is the Virgin Maid, as the full moon the Goddess is the Divine Mother, as the waning crescent the Goddess is the Crone. Mary draws archetypal parallel to the crescent as Virgin Goddess and the full moon as Mother Goddess. At the crucifixion Mary seems to become the Crone and continues the teachings of her sacrificial son. Interesting that the Goddess and the Sacrificial God are also ancient archetypes that predate agrarian civilization. He was the Horned God then, who was hunted and revered by ancient hunter-gatherer tribes. Later, in agrarian cultures He was the grain that was harvested in order to feed the tribe. The Slain God is also the God of Rebirth and rose up in shoots of Spring. These myths are all very old and span cultures with differing variations.

[messy]

03:31 PM on 12/23/2011

Actually, that whole myth was created in the mid 20th century by a man named Gerald Gardner.

[Bethel1]

05:02 PM on 12/12/2011

The bible speaks against Veneration of people.

The Scriptures do not teach Christians to pray to Mary. She is a blessed person to receive this privilege, and she is worthy of imitation because of her faith, however, Jesus is the only mediator and no human should ever be prayed to

[hayness]

12:33 PM on 12/12/2011

So there's a holiday to celebrate the rape of an underage girl by a god?

[MrHomerS]

01:44 PM on 12/12/2011

It looks like you neglected to read the article, let alone understand its contents, before you commented.

As explained in the article, it's a celebration of Mary's conception, not Jesus's.

Second, Rape? In the Gospels, Mary gives her verbal consent to the conception of Jesus when speaking with the angel. Plus, no sex took place.

[recless]

12:38 AM on 12/13/2011

But you actually believe a virgin gave birth, eh?

[Ekimus]

12:39 PM on 12/13/2011

Either way a minor got knocked up.

[jdl51]

11:36 AM on 12/12/2011

In Roman, Greek and other religious mythology, gods impregnating women and virgin birth were a common theme.
Krishna was born of the virgin Devaki
Savior Dionysus was born of the virgin Semele.
Buddha too was born of a virgin,
The old Teutonic goddess Hertha was a virgin impregnated by the heavenly Spirit and bore a son.
Scandinavian Frigga was impregnated by the All-Father Odin and bore Balder, the healer and savior of mankind.
The second century Church Father Origen says of the Jesus' virgin birth: He lists a number of Pagan Gods born of virgins: Danae, Melanippe, Auge and Antiope. The stories about these Gods are "ancient," says Origin, but unlike the story of Jesus' virgin birth, only fables.

The Immaculate Conception: Same story, different religion. In ancient times this wasn't a hard story to swallow. If someone were to say today they were pregnant without the help of a man, NO ONE would believe her.

[Noble9]

01:25 AM on 12/13/2011

The immaculate conception has nothing to do with virgin birth. It's about original sin.

[jdl51]

09:02 AM on 12/13/2011

So are you saying the Virgin Mary wasn't actually a virgin? That will be news to the church which has been preaching her as such for centuries.

[Z trufflesniffer]

02:08 PM on 12/13/2011

Now we're talking.

[messy]

03:34 PM on 12/23/2011

"Buddha too was born of a virgin."

Nope. His daddy was a king, not a god.

[the griff]

11:23 AM on 12/12/2011

I can't believe Joseph fell for this story and married her anyway.

[Z trufflesniffer]

02:08 PM on 12/13/2011

Thanks, I"m still laughing myself silly.

#1434 with pleasure........

[suebeedue]

08:12 AM on 12/14/2011

Listen, not that an angel would ever talk to you, but he was spoken to by an angel in a dream. He didn't "fall" for the story- he was explained the truth, something your father knows nothing about.

[the griff]

12:06 PM on 12/14/2011

I dreamed about a beautiful naked woman climbing in bed beside me. Then I woke up.

[Macready]

10:35 AM on 12/12/2011

what a joke . . . .

[sweetlilthing]

08:15 AM on 12/12/2011

If a baby was formed without sperm it would be a girl...

[suebeedue]

08:12 AM on 12/14/2011

See how little you know about the holy spirit?

[sweetlilthing]

08:30 AM on 12/14/2011

Not much to know about a made up concept along with the Easter bunny, King Kong and Jesus. Hate to rock your world Suebee, there isn't a Santa Claus either.

[Katie Wray]

02:39 PM on 12/11/2011

The Mother of Christ fills a void in Christian theology. When you worship only the God of Abraham, you lose an element of feminine divinity. How can women be the cradle of life w/o a Goddess to protect them?

The catholic church was the first church and they often borrowed from pagan rituals that were still practiced in communities during the church's infancy. The Goddess turned into Mary. The Winter Solstice turned into the Birth of Christ and Spring Rites turned into Easter (the Resurrection).

My feminist opinion on the "Original Sin" is if women bare the responsibility of sin, then it is easier to subjugate them. Women are the temptresses that lead men into sin...thus, Mary must have been above this sin in order to bring forth the Savior. If you're conceived in passion (sin) then that sin is branded on you; Jesus, as the "perfect sacrifice" could not bare the mark of Original Sin.

[Jahnabi Barooah]

04:39 PM on 12/11/2011

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

[tshields424]

06:20 PM on 12/11/2011

It's important to remember that the doctrine of "Original Sin" is a later theological development, advanced primarily in the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, who wrote passionately in favor of it against the Pelagians, who denied the concept. And once Original Sin had become firmly entrenched in Catholic dogma, it necessitated the need for yet another new doctrine: the Immaculate Conception, which is also not attested to anywhere in Scripture. If all are born with sin, then Mary could not be an adequate vessel to carry Jesus. Presto, abracadabra, and the Catholic Church makes it official dogma...

IN1854. That's the best thing about organized religion: you get to make it up or change it as you go along.

[the griff]

11:28 AM on 12/12/2011

Has anyone ever stopped to think, "why do we need religion?"

[messy]

03:37 PM on 12/23/2011

No. 1954. Pope Pius XII. The only time papal infallibility was formally invoked.

[AbrahamSadegh]

09:39 PM on 12/10/2011

Virginity of Mary is a metaphore for purity of the spirit.

[Jahnabi Barooah]

02:15 PM on 12/11/2011

Hmm. Interesting thought. Where did you come across this?

[AbrahamSadegh]

08:25 PM on 12/11/2011

Supremacy of human spirit over its physical attributes. That is what the God I believe in would be interested in.

In addition, the concept of "virginity" from a physical perspective is truly of no significance. This idea alone should give the likes of Taliban and other religious fanatics a welcome heart attack.

[the griff]

11:26 AM on 12/12/2011

Yeah. Where is the source for your statement? I have a degree in religion and have never heard that one.

[inonoatama]

07:38 PM on 12/10/2011

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823

[Macready]

10:37 AM on 12/12/2011

thank you for the great quote inonoatama . . f & F

[the griff]

11:30 AM on 12/12/2011

If humanity survives that long maybe we will outgrow this need for religion.