THE FIRST OF THE REDEEMED

Each year, December 8th, has immense significance for Catholics. The Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. God's plan of salvation begins at the conception of Mary by her parents, Joachim and Anne. Mary, chosen by God to be the Mother of Christ, the Savior, is sinless. God's action in Mary is the beginning of all that follows.

Our Diocese of Lansing is under the title and patronage of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our diocesan church was always called St. Mary. Our first St. Mary at Madison and Chestnut was dedicated in 1864. Father Louis Van Driss was the first pastor from 1862-1891.

Our second St. Mary Church, now a Cathedral, was consecrated on December 8, 1913 by Bishop Edward Kelly, Auxiliary Bishop in Detroit. He dedicated the Church to the Immaculate Conception. Father Lafayette Brancheau was then the third pastor from 1897-1915.

St. Mary Church became St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in 1937. Pope Pius XI established the Diocese of Lansing on May 22, 1937. Bishop Joseph Albers, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was appointed first bishop of Lansing on May 26, 1937.

The Immaculate Conception became nationally significant in 1846. During the 6th Council of Baltimore the U.S. Bishops placed the United States under the patronage of Mary the Immaculate Conception.

A sacred and noble memorial to the patronage of Our lady, now graces our nations' capital in Washington D.C. This National Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated on November 20, 1959.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary was declared a dogma of our Catholic Faith by Pius IX on December 8, 1854. This was in the 8th year of 32 years as Pontiff from 1846-1878.

This the 'key section' of the papal decree entitled 'Ineffable God': "In honor of the holy and undivided Trinity, for the ornament and honor of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith, for the increase of the Christian religion, by the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and of St. Peter and Paul, and our own, we declare, we proclaim, and we define ... that the doctrine, which holds that the most blessed Virgin Mary was preserved immune from all stain of original sin in the first moment of her conception by a singular grace and privilege of the omnipotent God. In view of the foreseen merits of Christ Jesus, the Savior of the human race, has been revealed by God, and therefore, to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

These truths are essential -

1. Mary, like all humans is redeemed and saved by Jesus Christ.

2. Her redemption was in no way a 'purification' from sin.

3. Her redemption was a 'preservation' from sin in foreknowledge of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of all.

4. Mary is preserved from all sin from the moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, Anne.

One of the greatest poets, Dante and two popes of our time speak about Mary Immaculate. On December 8, 1979 John Paul II declared: "Blessed be God the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who filled You, Virgin of Nazareth, with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In Him, You were conceived Immaculate! Preselected to be His Mother, you were redeemed in Him and through Him more than any other human being! Preserved from the inheritance of original sin, You were conceived and came into the world in a state of sanctifying grace, Full of Grace!

We venerate this mystery of the faith in today's solemnity. Today, together with all the Church, we venerate the Redemption which was actuated in You. That most singular participation in the Redemption of the world and of man, was reserved only for You, solely for You. Hail O Mary, Alma Redemptoris Mater, dear Mother of the Redeemer.

You who are the first among the redeemed, help us, men and women of the twentieth century moving toward its end and, at the same time, are people of the second millennium after Christ. Help us to find once more our part in the mystery of the Redemption. Help us to understand more profoundly the divine dimension and, at the same time, the human dimension of that mystery. Help us to draw more fully on its inexhaustible resources. Help us - redeemed by the most precious blood of Christ. All this we ask of You in the solemnity of today, O clement, O pious, sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.”

Last year on December 8, Benedict XVI prayed to Our Lady: "Full of grace" are you, Mary, full of divine love from the very first moment of your existence, providentially predestined to be Mother of the Redeemer and intimately connected to him in the mystery of salvation.

In your Immaculate Conception shines forth the vocation of Christ's disciples, called to become, with his grace, saints and immaculate through love (cf. Eph 1:4). In you shines the dignity of every human being who is always precious in the Creator's eyes.

Those who look to you, All Holy Mother, never lose their serenity, no matter what the hardships of life.

Although the experience of sin is a sad one since it disfigures the dignity of God's children, anyone who turns to you discovers the beauty of truth and love and finds the path that leads to the Father's house.

"Full of grace", are you, Mary, which, welcoming with your "yes" to the Creator's plan, opened to us the path of salvation. Teach us also at your school to say our "yes" to the Lord's will. Let it be a "yes" that joins with your own "yes", without reservations or shadows, a "yes" that the Heavenly Father willed to have need of in order to beget the new Man, Christ, the one Savior of the world and of history.

Give us the courage to say "no" to the deceptions of power, money, pleasure; to dishonest earnings, corruption and hypocrisy, to selfishness and violence; "no" to the Evil One, the deceitful prince of this world; to say "yes" to Christ, who destroys the power of evil with the omnipotence of love. We know that only hearts converted to Love, which is God, can build a better future for all.

From 'PARADISO' of DANTE (+1321):
Hymn to Our Lady
Maiden, yet a Mother,
Daughter of thy Son,
High beyond all other -
Lowlier is none,
Thou the consummation
Planned by God's decree,
When our lost creation
Nobler rose in thee!

Thus His place prepared,
He who all things made
'Mid His creatures tarried,
In thy bosom laid;
There His love He nourished -
Warmth that gave increase
To the Root whence flourished
Our eternal peace.

Nor alone thou hearest
When thy name we hail;
Often thou are nearest
When our voices fail;
Mirrored in thy fashion
All creation's good,
Mercy, might, compassion
Grace thy womanhood.