The Light of His Grace: Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

"The light of His grace streamed in upon her unobstructed and the radiant colors of all the virtues were found in the clear crystal of her purity."  Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P.

Child Mary by Kristyn Brown

This reflection from the Magnificat for today's Feast of the Immaculate Conception by Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P. is just perfect.  Light.  Pure, radiant light, free of Original Sin from her conception and full of grace.  That is the Immaculate Conception, Mary.  Beauty, strength, trust, light, love, magnificence--Our Lady, Our Mother.

Again, I'm going to borrow the words of Sister Mary Jean here:

"Mary's soul is the most beautiful thing in God's creation.  It was shaped by and designed as the masterpiece of the One who planned the sunsets, placed the mountains, bounded the seas, and jeweled the skies.  All the beauty, all the grace that a creature is capable of possessing are hers."

And it is this beauty of her soul and her grace that have been guiding us in reflection this Advent.  This second week, we journey to the hill country with Mary as she visits her expectant cousin, Elizabeth, whose infant, Jesus' forerunner, leaps in her womb at the sound of Mary's voice.  One has to wonder if there wasn't also a radiant glow that shone in the presence of these women--the Light of the World illuminating the womb of His mother, and that light radiating upon the woman carrying the "greatest man" (Matthew 11:11), John the Baptist.

We invite you to join us in a special conversation, a very feminine discussion, of the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth.  As you know, in many of these messages and reflections I write, I share experiences from my life, so it is very special for me to get to share this conversation with my mom.  It is our prayer that you feel part of our discussion--me at my kitchen table in Prague, and my mom at hers in Dodge City, Kansas as we read Scripture, reflect on the life of Mary and Joseph and read a passage from The Life of Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.

We are letting Scripture, Venerable Fulton Sheen, F.J. Sheed, Dr. Brant Pitre and Blessed Anne Catherine guide our discussion and bring us, together with you, into a deeper knowledge of, love for, and relationship with Mary so that she can guide us to the same with her son, Jesus.

May your life magnify the Lord and your spirit rejoice in God your Savior!

In Him through Her,

Angela