Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary

The Immaculate Conception

Teacher Background 

08 December 2020

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. This feast does not celebrate the fact that Jesus was conceived while Mary was a virgin; it celebrates that Mary herself was protected from the effects of original sin, and so was prepared to be a spotless “arc” for God to enter. This was God’s action, the Church teaches us - there is no way that Mary’s own behaviour earned her this. It was Jesus’ salvific action, applied outside of time.

There is a lot of theology in this statement but what I find most encouraging about this feast is that there is a human being who has lived without sin, other than Jesus, of course. The encouraging part is what she still did; she definitely still suffered. She was still confused by things “Luke 1:29” and she had to think them through to understand them deeply ”Luke 2:19”. She was still annoyed by her child occasionally ”Luke 2:48”.

Too often what I am aiming for in the spiritual life is to bypass these human experiences, but that is not necessary. In fact, it runs counter to the action of the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell in and with the truly honest, the truly human!  Sometimes (often!) embracing uncertainty is the most spiritual thing I can do.

https://carfleo.com/2020/12/07/immaculate-conception-4/

Here is an idea for teaching about Mary on this Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It’s from The Sunday Connection: 

Tell the young people that some people benefit from having connections in high places.

1. Invite them to imagine to whom they wish they had a connection.

2. Distribute index cards to the young people and have them complete the following sentence: I wish I knew someone who… (Example: I wish I knew someone who could get me a backstage pass to my favorite singer’s concert.)

3. When the young people have finished, invite volunteers to read aloud their cards.

4. Point out that Catholics think of Mary as someone who has a privileged connection to Jesus and that, in our prayers, we often ask Mary to help us grow closer to her son, Jesus.

5. Say: The Gospel for the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary tells us the story of how God called Mary to accept a special role.

6. Invite volunteers to read aloud Luke 1:26-38.

7. Ask: How did Mary first respond to the greeting of the angel? (She was troubled; she asked how this could be possible.) What does Mary finally say to the angel? (“I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be as you say.”) Do you think it was easy for Mary to respond this way? Why or why not?

8. Say: Mary is a model of discipleship for us because she said yes to God and cooperated with God’s plan by becoming the mother of Jesus. We honor Mary because she is the Mother of Jesus and our Mother as well. We can grow closer to God through Mary because of the special place she has in relationship to Jesus.

9. Conclude by praying together the Hail Mary.