Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Alleluia!
Today we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where God preserved Mary from all stains of sin from the very moment of her conception. Mass is required today in many countries including the United States. How wonderfully glorious that the Lord preserved Mary from all stains to make her a worthy dwelling place. Because of Mary's "yes" to God, Our Savior entered the world. For Mary is the woman mentioned in Genesis that would crush the head of the serpent, who is the devil.

Alleluia! The Virgin Mother of God intercedes for all mankind praying unceasingly that the souls won by the price of Jesus' blood will repent. She is our Mother too! Let us pray for her intercession.

Alleluia!

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PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION:

O God, Who, by the Immaculate Conception of the virgin, didst prepare for Thy Son a worthy habitation, we beseech Thee, that as Thou didst preserve her from every stain by the foreseen death of this Thy Son, so Thou wouldst grant that we also being cleansed from guilt by her intercession, may come to Thee. Through the same our Lord.

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Novena to the Immaculate Conception: Final Day

PRAYER TO THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You.Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Nine

O Mother of the King of the Universe, most perfect member of the human race, "our tainted nature’s solitary boast," we turn to you as mother, advocate, and mediatrix. O Holy Mary, assist us in our present necessity. By your Immaculate Conception, O Mary conceived without sin, we humbly beseech you from the bottom of our heart to intercede for us with your Divine Son and ask that we be granted the favor for which we now plead...

(State your intention here...)

O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

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Friday December 8, 2006: Holy Day of Obligation

This Friday is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. It is a holy day of obligation in the United States and several other countries meaning all Catholics are bound to attend Holy Mass. Failure to attend Mass, without a sufficient reason, is indeed a Mortal sin.

CCC 1861: "Mortal sin ... If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back."

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James 5:7-16

I thought this was appropriate advice for Advent:

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.

Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because "the Lord is compassionate and merciful." But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your "Yes" mean "Yes" and your "No" mean "No," that you may not incur condemnation.

Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? 6 He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.

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Novena to the Immaculate Conception: Day Eight

PRAYER TO THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You.Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.

Amen.

Day Eight

O Most gracious Virgin Mary, beloved Mother of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, intercede with him for us that we be granted the favor which we petition for so earnestly in this novena...O Mother of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. O Glorious Mother of God, in memory of your joyous Immaculate Conception, hear our prayers and obtain for us our petitions.

(State your intention here...)

O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

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Abstain From Meat Today

Since tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and it is also Friday, the traditional Friday abstinence should not be observed tomorrow. There should never be abstinence on a solemnity. What? You didn't realize that abstaining from meat or doing another act of penance was still required? It is.

Code of Canon Law:

Canon 1251: "Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the episcopal conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday."

Canon 1253 provides an exception to the rule - and, perhaps, an explanation for the cultural shift: "The episcopal conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety."

So, be sure to abstain from meat today if you can. Tomorrow is a celebration.

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Uganda's Abstinence Programs Work

From LifeSiteNews:

Janet Museveni, First Lady of Uganda, has continued her strong support for the country’s successful abstinence campaign against HIV/AIDS with a statement encouraging youth to live lives of “love, faith and purity,” New Vision reported December 2.

"I would not be caught advising you to take any shortcuts or compromise your lives by using any device invented by man, such as condoms, in order to facilitate any desire to go against God's clear plan for your life,” Mrs. Museveni told students at the Uganda Christian University, Mukono, for World AIDS Day.

“God's plan for your life is that you should honour your body because it is His temple."

Warning the young people that they should not be complacent as HIV infection rates rise, Mrs. Museveni asked them to encourage other students to abstain from premarital sex.

Ugandan President Museveni and his wife introduced a program encouraging sexual abstinence before marriage and fidelity afterwards, in an attempt to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

The program has been harshly condemned by international organizations promoting condom use, but in fact Ugandan HIV transmission rates dropped by as much as 75% in some regions after the program was introduced, down to 5-7% from a high of 18%.

Uganda is a symbol. Condoms don't work. Abstinence remains the only effective way for countering the AIDS Crisis. Plus, artificial contraception and pre-marital sex are mortal sins anyway.

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Sr. Josefa Menendez

"Living day and night before the Blessed Sacrament with His Divine Heart present there is all my consolation here below" (Sr. Josefa Menendez, Servant of God)

Remember, the Eucharist is Jesus Christ!

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Blogging update

Update: There have been around 150 more requests, and there has been a delay. I will get those saints posted and email those people as soon as I get the results. I appreciate everyone's patience.

There are over 200 Saint for the Year requests so far, which is nearly half of the amount asked for 2006 already! However, as a result, my free time is gone. I apologize for taking so long on emailing out the results. It is just a huge project. I will do my best. I hope the requests keep coming in.

However, normal blogging will at least slow down for now. Between this project, work, classes, and Diocese work, I'm swarmed with things to do.

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Feastday of St. Nicholas

As we journey through Advent, we arrived today at the Feastday of St. Nicholas! Read my post on him from last year for information on this holy saint.

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