This Wednesday, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, is a Holy Day of Obligation. We will have a low mass at 7am and 11am and a high mass at 7pm. Our Lady under this title is the patroness of the United States and patroness of St. Mary’s! This is a great honor as this title highlights her absolute enmity with the serpent, the devil, who gained dominion over us by original sin, and foretells how she will crush his head (Gen 3.15), triumphing over all evil (Apoc 12). Let us pray especially for the sanctification of our country on this day that God may be all in all!
As by the providence of God, I said my first public mass this last Saturday, Nov 27, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, I would like to particularly recommend devotion to this most powerful sign given to us by Our Lady, which symbolically contains a compendium of what the Church teaches about her and is a powerful sacramental to grow in holiness and triumph over Satan. St. Maximillian Kolbe referred to it as the silver bullet in our fight against evil. It is originally known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, given by Our Lady years prior to the dogmatic definition by the Church. It quickly became known as the “miraculous” medal by the fact that it has worked so many miracles in the lives of the faithful. There is an imposition/enrollment in this holy medal, like unto the Scapular, and if one has not received it yet and would like to, we will impose it on any who bring their own miraculous medal to mass this Wednesday after all the masses. Read more about this heaven-sent medal here and the rite of imposition here, and the miraculous conversion of Alfonse Ratisbonne here.