Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou

Manuel González Olaechea y Franco CC

On February 11th, 1858, Bernadette, a peasant girl, saw a "lady" while gathering firewood for her family. The identity of the lady was not certain (at least for Bernadette if not the folks in town) until March 25th, when the lady spoke, "Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou" or in English, "I am the Immaculate Conception." In 1854, Pope Pius IX dogmatically defined the Blessed Virgin Mary's immaculate conception.

For me, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (Feb 11th), the Solemnity of the Annunciation (Mar 25th, the incarnation of the Son of God), and the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (Dec 8th) are closely tied together.

So while St Louis de Montfort highly recommends the Annunciation as the date to consecrate oneself as a slave of Jesus in Mary, I decided that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception was most appropriate for me. Additionally, it is not unusual for me to triple it. That is, I'll follow the Immaculate Conception with Our Lady of Lourdes and the Annunciation.

And so I pray that on her feast day of the Immaculate Conception, the highly favored one, Mary, full of grace, will favor this blog that opens on her day.

O Jesus, living in Mary,
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.