The Immaculate Conception
  of the Blessed Virgin Mary              

The Church celebrates on December 8 the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (But because December 8 this year falls on a Sunday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to December 9, which becomes a holiday of obligation for Catholics.)

Pope Pius IX, on December 8, 1854, has defined the dogma that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."

"The subject of his immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body."

This feast tells us that the Blessed Virgin Mary was created by God immaculate in nature for the sake of his Son.

The Immaculate Conception should not be confused with the perpetual virginity of Mary or the virgin birth of Jesus. Because the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary herself by her mother, Saint Anne.

The Immaculate Conception is one of the 3 Holy Days of Obligation (in addition to all Sundays) for the Catholic Church in the Philippines (the other 2 being January 1 and December 25). 

                  Prayer

Let us pray to Mary, our Mother, to be with us, to guide us, to protect us through her prayer of intercession with her Son.

Let us ask Mary to strengthen the Church in the Philippines in its resolve to protect human life, especially the life of the unborn.

Let us ask Mary to help us respond as generously to God's call as she did and to be as true Catholics and faithful a disciple of her Son as she is.

Mary, our Mother, we honor you today on your Immaculate Conception with the prayer of Hail Holy Queen, in Latin Version.



Salve, Regina, Mater  misericordiae,
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae,
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos
misericordes oculos ad nos converte;
et lesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O Clemens; O Pia, O Dulcis Virgo Maria!


Mama Mary, please pray for us and our country!


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

The Advent Wreath

The Advent Season is our preparation for the big event that is Christmas. In Churches and chapels, including most homes and offices, we see a beautiful symbolism of Advent in the Advent Wreath.

The Advent Wreath is part of our long-standing Catholic tradition, which is very much a part of our spiritual preparation for Christmas.

The Advent Wreath is made up of various evergreens in circle, signifying continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, depicts the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found only in Christ, the eternal Word of the Father.

The four candles in the Advent Wreath refer to the four weeks of Advent. According to tradition, each week represents one hundred years, to sum up to the four thousand years from the time of Adam and Eve until the birth of the Savior.

Three of the candles are color purple and one is color rose. In particular, the purple candles symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifice, and the good works the faithful undertake at this time in preparation for Christ's birth.

The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, which is also called "Gaudete Sunday", or the Sunday of rejoicing. It is so because the faithful are now at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to Christmas Day.

Some modern day adaptation of the Advent Wreath includes a while candle in the middle of the wreath, which represents Christ, the Light of the World. It is lit on Christmas eve.

The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord's first coming into the world and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the living and the dead.

Prayers for the Advent Wreath: (usually at the start of Sunday Mass)

1st Sunday of Advent:

Father, as we begin our Advent pilgrimage, we light a candle of Hope.

Grant us the courage to hope: hope for your presence, hope for your peace, hope for  your promise. Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent:

Father, as we journey down the Advent road, we re-light the candle of Hope, and we light a candle of Peace.

Grant us the courage to make peace: peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in our communities. Amen.

3rd Sunday of Advent:

Father, at the height of our Advent walk, we re-light the candles of Hope and Peace, and we light a candle of Joy.

Grant us the courage to experience joy in the hope of the Savior's coming: joy in the face of apathy, joy in the face of sorrow, joy in the face of uncertainty. Amen.

4th Sunday of Advent:

Father, as our Advent pilgrimage draws to a close, we re-light the candles of Hope, Peace, and Joy. And we light a candle of Love.

Grant us the courage to share your love: love for life and all creation, love for sinners and saints, love for the poor and the little ones. We thank you for the hope your Son gives us, for the peace he bestows, for the joy your Spirit pours into our hearts, and for your love that redeems us and shows us the way. Amen.

Christmas Eve: (Suggested prayer)

O God, who made this most sacred night radiant with the splendor of the true light in Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, grant, we pray, that we, who have known the mysteries of his light on earth, may also delight in his gladness in heaven, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!