MICHIGAN CITY – On the occasion of celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bishop Robert J. McClory told the faithful “What a tremendous gift we celebrate here at St. Mary the Immaculate Conception.”
The bishop celebrated the Mass at the Michigan City parish on Dec. 8. Bishop McClory concelebrated with Father David Kime, pastor of St. Mary, Father Walter M. Ciesla, pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka, and Father Walter Rakoczy, senior priest.
The bishop told the parishioners, “We give gratitude to God for this dogma which was defined 150-plus years ago and by which the Savior would enter the world.”
In 1854, Pope Pius IX's, “Ineffabilis Deus,” clarified the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin. The document states, “the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by 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, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.”
In 1846, the U.S. bishops unanimously selected the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, as the county’s patroness, which was approved by Pope Pius IX.
The bishop began his homily by sharing some history about the parish. He explained that in 1859 as St. Ambrose Catholic Church was merged with St. Mary, it was given a new name – St. Mary, the Immaculate Conception. The newly named parish was among the first churches in the United States to which the Immaculate Conception was added to part of the church’s name.
“What is it about adding the Immaculate Conception title and reflecting on that beautiful truth of the faith? That should give us encouragement. That should be for us a motivation to trust in the Lord more fully and place ourselves in his loving care,” said Bishop McClory.
The bishop said the dogma of the Immaculate Conception “isn’t some little obscure Catholic doctrine that Catholics somehow made up” but is rooted in scripture. “From the beginning of scripture, she was the one foretold in the Book of Genesis who would be the vessel through which Satan would be defeated…For that to be true, Mary herself would be born without the stain of sin.”
Bishop McClory then shifted the focus to the Gospels, where Mary would be visited by the angel. “She is completely full of grace. That’s what the messenger of God said about Mary, the Immaculate Conception,” he said. “Mary says I’m going to be faithful to the Word of God. Her ‘yes’ is that key so that a savior is born. Mary undid that response of Eve by giving a complete ‘yes’.”
He added, “The devil is going to try to get to us like he did Adam and Eve. He’s going to tempt us, distract us from following God’s plan for our lives. The difference now is that we’re not alone, we have Jesus born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception.”
Caption: Bishop Robert J. McClory prays the Eucharistic Prayers during the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Mary the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8. Pictured behind the bishop are as Deacon Michael Green, Father Walter M. Ciesla, Rev. George L. Schopp, Father Walter Rakoczy, and Father David Kime. (Bob Wellinski photo)