The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates Mary’s conception without sin and is a holy day of obligation.  Even though this feast day occurs in the liturgical season of Advent, which prepares for the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Ann.  The dogma of the Immaculate Conception asserts that, “from the first moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in the view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of Mankind, kept free from all stain of original sin.” 

This feast is a time to celebrate the great joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary, and to recognize with greater clarity, the truth that each and every human being has been created by God to fulfill a particular mission that He and only He can fulfill.