About Today
Monday 8 December 2025
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity
Let us celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Let us adore her Son, who is Christ the Lord.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: White.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin, that twist in our nature that makes our will tend not to follow what it knows to be right. It was this grace that enabled Mary to give a true and considered “Yes” to the request, conveyed by the Angel Gabriel, that she should consent to be the mother of the incarnate God.
Because it is so old, this is one of the Marian doctrines that Islam shares with the Catholic Church, though of course the theological details are very different. ‘in a famous Hadith attributed to the Prophet, it is affirmed that: “Every child is touched by the devil as soon as he is born and this contact makes him cry. Excepted are Mary and her Son”. From this Hadith and from verses 35-37 of Sura III, Moslem commentators have deduced and affirmed the principle of Mary’s original purity.’ (Giancarlo Finazzo. L’Osservatore Romano, 13 April 1978). The full text of the article is here.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was almost universally believed over the centuries but was only formally defined as a doctrine of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
Solemnity of the The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
At that time: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the feast that honours Mary’s own conception. not the conception of Jesus. This can easily be confused. The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being conceived in the womb of her mother, St Anne, free from original sin. Today’s feast, coming exactly nine months before Mary’s Nativity on 8th September, celebrates the beginning of her sinless life. Since God chose Mary to welcome His Son into the world, He fashioned her as a sinless vessel: the spotless womb, the living tabernacle, in which the Word would quietly take flesh.
From the earliest centuries, the Church Fathers recognised Mary’s unique role in salvation history. They understood that God prepared her in a special way to be the Mother of the Saviour, and that salvation could not have unfolded without her “yes.” The dogma of the Immaculate Conception teaches that from the very first moment of her existence, Mary was preserved by God from the stain of original sin. This “singular grace” allowed Mary to be a pure, unstained vessel for the Incarnation.
Our German painting from 1855, by Franz Ittenbach, reflects this purity beautifully. A devout Catholic artist, Ittenbach often painted religious subjects in a style reminiscent of Raphael: gentle, luminous, and full of harmony. Here, Mary’s skin is almost porcelain-like as she holds the Christ Child. Both reach toward a white lily, the classic symbol of Mary’s purity. Behind them, a flock of sheep hints at the Christian community gathered around the Good Shepherd. Beneath the lilies, red roses foreshadow Christ’s future Passion, while the figs beside Him recall Old Testament images of Israel’s prosperity. Even the frame, designed by Ittenbach himself, honours her with the title Mater Amabilis: “Mother Most Lovable.”
Madonna and Child,
Painting by Franz Ittenbach (1813-1879),
Painted in 1855
Oil on canvas
© Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity
Let us celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Let us adore her Son, who is Christ the Lord.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: White.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin, that twist in our nature that makes our will tend not to follow what it knows to be right. It was this grace that enabled Mary to give a true and considered “Yes” to the request, conveyed by the Angel Gabriel, that she should consent to be the mother of the incarnate God.
Because it is so old, this is one of the Marian doctrines that Islam shares with the Catholic Church, though of course the theological details are very different. ‘in a famous Hadith attributed to the Prophet, it is affirmed that: “Every child is touched by the devil as soon as he is born and this contact makes him cry. Excepted are Mary and her Son”. From this Hadith and from verses 35-37 of Sura III, Moslem commentators have deduced and affirmed the principle of Mary’s original purity.’ (Giancarlo Finazzo. L’Osservatore Romano, 13 April 1978). The full text of the article is here.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was almost universally believed over the centuries but was only formally defined as a doctrine of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
Solemnity of the The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
At that time: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the feast that honours Mary’s own conception. not the conception of Jesus. This can easily be confused. The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being conceived in the womb of her mother, St Anne, free from original sin. Today’s feast, coming exactly nine months before Mary’s Nativity on 8th September, celebrates the beginning of her sinless life. Since God chose Mary to welcome His Son into the world, He fashioned her as a sinless vessel: the spotless womb, the living tabernacle, in which the Word would quietly take flesh.
From the earliest centuries, the Church Fathers recognised Mary’s unique role in salvation history. They understood that God prepared her in a special way to be the Mother of the Saviour, and that salvation could not have unfolded without her “yes.” The dogma of the Immaculate Conception teaches that from the very first moment of her existence, Mary was preserved by God from the stain of original sin. This “singular grace” allowed Mary to be a pure, unstained vessel for the Incarnation.
Our German painting from 1855, by Franz Ittenbach, reflects this purity beautifully. A devout Catholic artist, Ittenbach often painted religious subjects in a style reminiscent of Raphael: gentle, luminous, and full of harmony. Here, Mary’s skin is almost porcelain-like as she holds the Christ Child. Both reach toward a white lily, the classic symbol of Mary’s purity. Behind them, a flock of sheep hints at the Christian community gathered around the Good Shepherd. Beneath the lilies, red roses foreshadow Christ’s future Passion, while the figs beside Him recall Old Testament images of Israel’s prosperity. Even the frame, designed by Ittenbach himself, honours her with the title Mater Amabilis: “Mother Most Lovable.”
Madonna and Child,
Painting by Franz Ittenbach (1813-1879),
Painted in 1855
Oil on canvas
© Minneapolis Institute of Art