Pastoral Message for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
December 5, 2025 at 4:14 p.m.
Never had the world received more joyful news than the words spoken by the Angel Gabriel to a humble young woman in Nazareth: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). In that single greeting, centuries of hope found their fulfillment. Mary—chosen from the beginning—was revealed as the one uniquely “full of grace,” preserved from sin from the first moment of her existence. She alone was prepared to welcome the message that God Himself would dwell within her.
This is the mystery we celebrate today: the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the divine path that prepared the way for the Incarnation of Christ, the Word made flesh. Freed from the burden of Adam and Eve’s sin, Mary was destined to become the Mother of God, the one who would carry within her the Savior of the world. To her, the angel proclaimed: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name him Jesus” (Luke 1:31).
Mary’s response was filled with wonder and honest questioning. “How can this be?” she asked. Gabriel’s answer continues to echo across time: “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). In faith and humility, Mary offered her “yes”: “Let it be done to me as you say” (Luke 1:38). With that fiat, the door of salvation swung open, and Grace Himself—Jesus Christ—entered our world.
Yet the Immaculate Conception is not only Mary’s story; it speaks to us as well. St. Paul reminds us in Ephesians that “in him we were chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4). What God brought to perfection in Mary, He desires to begin in us: holiness, mercy, and the life of grace. This is why Mary is called the Mother of Mercy—because in her immaculate “yes” we glimpse the tender nearness of the Father, whose mercy makes all things possible.
As we celebrate this feast in the holy season of Advent, the Church invites us to rediscover the mercy of God. Pope Francis describes this mercy as “a living experience of the closeness of the Father, whose tenderness is almost tangible.” Today, let us open our hearts to that closeness. Let us believe, as Mary believed, that nothing is impossible for God—not the forgiveness of our deepest sins, not the healing of our deepest wounds, not reconciliation where division seems hopeless, not peace in a world troubled by conflict.
Mary’s immaculate faith teaches us to trust, to surrender, and to respond with courage. With her, let us pray to the merciful Father: “Let it be done to me as you say.” May her purity kindle our hope, her humility strengthen our faith, and her steadfast “yes” guide us to welcome Christ into our hearts this Advent.
May the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, intercede for us and lead us ever closer to her Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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Never had the world received more joyful news than the words spoken by the Angel Gabriel to a humble young woman in Nazareth: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). In that single greeting, centuries of hope found their fulfillment. Mary—chosen from the beginning—was revealed as the one uniquely “full of grace,” preserved from sin from the first moment of her existence. She alone was prepared to welcome the message that God Himself would dwell within her.
This is the mystery we celebrate today: the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the divine path that prepared the way for the Incarnation of Christ, the Word made flesh. Freed from the burden of Adam and Eve’s sin, Mary was destined to become the Mother of God, the one who would carry within her the Savior of the world. To her, the angel proclaimed: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name him Jesus” (Luke 1:31).
Mary’s response was filled with wonder and honest questioning. “How can this be?” she asked. Gabriel’s answer continues to echo across time: “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). In faith and humility, Mary offered her “yes”: “Let it be done to me as you say” (Luke 1:38). With that fiat, the door of salvation swung open, and Grace Himself—Jesus Christ—entered our world.
Yet the Immaculate Conception is not only Mary’s story; it speaks to us as well. St. Paul reminds us in Ephesians that “in him we were chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4). What God brought to perfection in Mary, He desires to begin in us: holiness, mercy, and the life of grace. This is why Mary is called the Mother of Mercy—because in her immaculate “yes” we glimpse the tender nearness of the Father, whose mercy makes all things possible.
As we celebrate this feast in the holy season of Advent, the Church invites us to rediscover the mercy of God. Pope Francis describes this mercy as “a living experience of the closeness of the Father, whose tenderness is almost tangible.” Today, let us open our hearts to that closeness. Let us believe, as Mary believed, that nothing is impossible for God—not the forgiveness of our deepest sins, not the healing of our deepest wounds, not reconciliation where division seems hopeless, not peace in a world troubled by conflict.
Mary’s immaculate faith teaches us to trust, to surrender, and to respond with courage. With her, let us pray to the merciful Father: “Let it be done to me as you say.” May her purity kindle our hope, her humility strengthen our faith, and her steadfast “yes” guide us to welcome Christ into our hearts this Advent.
May the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, intercede for us and lead us ever closer to her Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.