Bob Jensen

I would like to share with you this article
by Fr. Paul Turner on the Immaculate Conception,
whose feast day is Thursday, December 8.
– Fr. Bill

The Immaculate Conception

“The Immaculate Conception” is a title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The expression means that Mary was conceived without sin. The conviction that Jesus was born of a virgin is a distinct belief, even though many Catholics erroneously think that the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus.
Contributing to the confusion is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception during the season of Advent. While the faithful are preparing to honor the birth of Jesus, we commemorate the conception of Mary. The choice of Dec. 8 for the Immaculate Conception does not directly relate to Advent; it corresponds more to the traditional date for the feast of the birth of Mary, Sept. 8, which coincides with the dedication of a Jerusalem church in honor of the mother of Mary. The feast for the conception of Mary is backed up from that day nine months. In a similar way we celebrate the Annunciation on March 25, nine months before the birth of Jesus.
Belief in the Immaculate Conception asserts that God preserved Mary from all sin from the moment of her conception, thus preparing a pure vessel for the incarnation of the Son. This belief is not expressly contained in the Scriptures, but it enjoys a widespread following in the church’s tradition. Although the Immaculate Conception of Mary has been affirmed since the earliest centuries of Christianity, it was not formally proclaimed a dogma of the church until 1854. December 8 is now a holy day of obligation in the United States, which is placed under Mary’s patronage with this title.
When Mary is depicted as the Immaculate Conception, she is often shown wearing a crown of stars as the woman in Revelation 12 and standing on a snake, reversing the temptation of Eve. Mary, the Immaculate Conception, is the exalted queen of heaven who manifests God’s power over sin.

Matthew’s Gospel
With the beginning of Advent, we turn to Matthew’s
Gospel to guide us through the coming year. Some
have described Matthew’s gospel as an expanded
edition of Mark, the first of the gospels to be written.
Matthew retains Mark’s general sequence of events.
However, he frames it with an account of Jesus’ birth
and post resurrection appearances. Matthew adds five
blocks of teaching material, emphasizing Jesus as the
inaugurator of a new covenant who definitively
interprets the Mosaic Law, and through fulfilling specific
prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures proves his identity
as Israel’s Messiah.
Matthew is writing for a Jewish Christian community
and is concerned to show how Jesus fulfills Judaism.
His life mirrors the events of Israel’s history. Most of
all, Jesus is pictured as the new Moses.
Writing a decade or two after the Roman destruction of
Jerusalem, Matthew softens Mark’s portrait of a more
fiery Jesus, adding parables that imply a delay in the
Second Coming. He focuses on the missionary work of
the church and instruction to the Twelve, who are
pictured in a much better light than in Mark’s gospel.
From Matthew’s gospel we get the word “Church.”

Today, we celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe.
Father Bill shares an article written by Father Paul Turner,
pastor of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
in Kansas City, MO.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
By Fr. Paul Turner
Jesus Christ is king of all creation. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him (28:18). The Revelation of John calls him King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16). People wanted to make Jesus a king after he worked the miracle of the loaves, but he went away by himself instead (Jn 6:15). They wanted a secular king to govern their land. Jesus wanted to rule their hearts.
The Catholic Church celebrates the kingship of Christ on the last Sunday of the church year. The liturgical year reaches its climax in a celebration that honors the supreme command of Christ. He has dominion over all creation, and he rules every person who believes in him.
The feast of Christ the King entered the Catholic calendar in 1925, which Pope Pius XI had set aside as a holy year. Pius thought the feast would bring the year to a solemn close, help combat the forces of secularism, and remind the world that Christ is its ultimate ruler. The pope chose the last Sunday of October because of its proximity to the end of the liturgical year and to serve as a prelude to All Saints Day on Nov. 1. The same day was already being observed as Reformation Sunday in the Protestant traditions.
Pope Paul VI moved the observance from the end of October to the very last Sunday of the church year in order to exalt its theme even more. Now we end the year with an idea that sums up all that we have celebrated and that prepares us to start anew: this Jesus, whose birth we will soon celebrate, is the king of all creation.