Immaculate Conception

Today we celebrate that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, never had any sin from the very beginning of her life in St. Anne’s womb. All of us carry with us the effect of original sin (that Adam and Eve turned away from God and listened to the serpent in the Garden). We are saved from this sin by being baptized; saying yes to Jesus and joining God’s family. Because He created her, God knew that Mary would say yes to Jesus. Since God created Mary to carry His Son Jesus in her womb, He wanted her to be free from all Sin. So God saved Mary from original sin right at the moment of her creation - she was saved from sin before she was even born! This is a very important teaching of the Catholic Church but it is sometimes hard for people to believe. Mary wanted people to believe in this teaching because she knows that it can help people understand Jesus better, and so she appeared to St. Bernadette and called herself the Immaculate Conception. This helped a lot of people to believe in the Immaculate Conception.