Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The feast of the Immaculate Conception is near and dear to my heart. I didn’t always understand this Catholic feast. For most of my life I thought that it referred to Jesus’ conception. He was the Son of God, right? So doesn’t it make sense that his miraculous conception – what with Mary’s virginity and the message of the angel – be immaculate? I thought so, and so have others.

Jesus’ conception, though stunning in its own right, does not receive the title “immaculate.” His conception is referred to as the Virginal Conception, but we regularly refer to the whole event as the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38).

The Immaculate Conception actually refers to Mary’s conception. God gave her the “unique grace and privilege” of being “preserved free from all stain of original sin” (from Pope Pius IX in God Ineffable on December 8, 1854). Responding to the continuing grace of God, Mary was sinless throughout her lifetime. And so Mary is “immaculate” which was only proper for the woman who would carry the Son of God in her womb.

As an Immaculate Heart of Mary sister, I am humbled to have Mary as my religious namesake. Like others, I struggle in my life and my relationship with God, and I am anything but immaculate. But I have come to realize that Mary is truly our sister for though she is immaculate, she is human like us. She gives me a glimpse of how to say “yes” to God in all the big and little events in my life. Mary shows me that it is possible to meet the daily challenges of life with patience, grace, humility, and love.

On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I pray that you and I continue to aspire to be "full of grace" knowing that Mary is by our side.

In what ways do you experience Mary in everyday life?

Sister Julie Vieira is an Immaculate Heart of Mary sister. On this feast day, she will participate in the venerable IHM tradition of renewing her religious vows. Sister Julie blogs regularly at A Nun’s Life (http://anunslife.org)

Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Francisco_de_Zurbarán_018.jpg

Waiting for Advent

The new Church year is just around the corner. Soon we’ll move from Ordinary Time to the Season of Advent, from green to violet and rose, from the daily stuff of faith to four weeks charged with the feeling of hope and anticipation.

I can’t help but look forward to Advent and it’s palpable excitement as we look forward to the coming of Christ Jesus. To me it feels like those days when you wake up super early and the sky is still darker than dark. You make yourself a cup of coffee, and sit on the couch, waiting for the dawn to come and the world to wake up. That’s the feeling I have right now as I think about Advent.

As the stores start cranking out the holiday merchandise and the Christmas present pitches, I want to hang on to this feeling of anticipation, of hope and trust in the new life of Christ Jesus. While I don’t normally do a lot of holiday shopping, I think this year I might try to get all my shopping done before Advent begins. That just might help me better embrace Advent and all that the new year holds for us.

And I might just make it a habit to wake up early. This will give me a chance to spend time with two Mary’s -- Mary Oliver the poet and Mary the Mother of God. The poet because her poems from Why I Wake Early will be good morning meditations for Advent. The Mother of God because I feel drawn to walking with Mary, especially as she prepared for the coming of not only her child but to God and to new life for the world. Wow!

In what ways are you preparing for Advent?

Sister Julie Vieira, IHM, blogs regularly at A Nun’s Life (http://anunslife.org) and is trying to wait patiently for the Season of Advent to begin.

Jesuit Martyrs and Saints: One Catholic's Heroes

Martyrs and Saints. These are the action figures, the heroes of my childhood and my faith today. Did my parents get me Wonder Woman comic books? No. My good Catholic parents, God bless them, gave me comic books detailing the stories of martyrs and saints and Catholic leaders such as Pope John Paul II. I love that these “characters” filled my imagination and even to this day, I look to these Catholic heroes for inspiration, solidarity, and strength.

When I was studying theology at Regis College in Toronto with the Jesuits, I discovered a whole new set of heroes: the Jesuit martyrs and saints. These guys are in a class all their own in some respects because they are so filled with the zeal and mission characteristic of the Jesuits. My interest and devotion to the Jesuit martyrs was peaked when I visited the North American Jesuit Martyr’s Shrine in Midland, Ontario. Right next door to the shrine is a re-creation of one of the French Jesuit missions from the 1600s, Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, which helped give me a context to the kind of life the missionary Jesuits lived. I was overwhelmed with the stories of Jean de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues and the other Jesuit martyrs and how they had given their lives and their deaths for the faith. Experiencing the mission helped me to get to know these martyrs

As with any hero, looking up to them means that you try to emulate their values, attitudes, actions, and perhaps their way of life. For me and the Jesuit martyrs, it means committing myself fully to the liberating mission of Jesus Christ. It means being willing to give of my whole self, not just the parts of myself that I choose.

Who are your heroes and what do they teach you about living the liberating mission of Jesus?


Sister Julie Vieira, IHM, is a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe Michigan. She is author of the popular blog www.ANunsLife.org in which she writes about being a young, Catholic nun and answers readers' questions. Sister Julie also ministers at Loyola Press, a Jesuit publishing company in Chicago.