Immaculate Conception: Before Our Lady Was Born, She Opposed Satan

Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM

Immaculate Conception: Before Our Lady Was Born, She Opposed Satan

This feast day is on the Church’s calendar to help us celebrate Mary, which helps us love Our Lady even more.

We celebrate the sinless virgin on the feast day of her Immaculate Conception. Those devoted to Mary are delighted and happy for something that was done for Our Lady. We rejoice in her glory; rejoice in her privilege; rejoice in her goodness because we are happy for her. That, in part, why we celebrate her today. We do so because of our devotion to Mary; we love her. Devotion to Mary has a deep interior practice. Hear more in the conference about this joy!

Fr. de Montfort recommends we contemplate Mary’s goodness in order to deepen our love for her. Contemplate her titles the Church has given her (listen to the next audio which includes praying these titles) over the centuries.

Starting at approximately the 18 minute mark, the audio reviews the Gospel Before There Were Gospels (Genesis 3:15). Sin causes the human heart to hide from God. The audio relates this truth to the fall of the human race by Adam and Eve’s actions. Haman hearts are impacted. In this audio, God also tells the serpent that He will put enmity between the serpent and THE WOMAN. What woman? Eve? No! Eve already has sin and her heart has been impacted by the serpent.

What WOMAN then? This is the foretelling of the coming of Our Lady. In Genesis we hear the role of THE WOMAN. Hear how THE WOMAN – hear how Our Lady – opposes Satin in this conference audio. She wasn’t even born yet, when she is announced how through THE WOMAN serpent will be crushed.

Listen to this conference’s audio first audio set.

Prayerful Rejoicing In Our Lady

This second audio set leads us to a prayerful rejoicing and consideration of Our Lady in her greatness, in her glory and her goodness. The audio leads us in prayer of Our Lady’s Litany. Take note in the Litany. The beginning and closure of the Litany is speaking to God. Everything we pray to Mary, is contained between what we say to God! Contemplate this as you follow along with the community as we pray Our Lady’s Litany.

Editor’s Note: The second audio prayerfully leads the community through Our Lady’s Litany. If you would like to understand the meanings behind each of these titles, all of them are explained in the series of audio/video sets entitled: Special Devotional Series to Mary, Mother of the Church (link here).