Immaculate Conception

Religion and pagan traditions mingle again, today, the day of the Immaculate Conception.

The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic feast that celebrates the doctrine of immunity of the sin of the Virgin Mary; a dogma that belongs to the relatively recent pastprecisely 1854, when Pius IX on December 8, in the Sistine Chapel, in accordance with “Deus Ineffabilis” promulgates Blessed Virgin Mary immune from original sin. In the Bible, it doesn’t  express exactly this dogma and the only reference we find is the Annunciation, when the Angel greets Mary under the title: << Full of Grace >> . But we find the roots of this celebration in two apparitions of Mary: the first to Catherine Labouré, in Paris, in 1830, the second, much better known, to little Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858, and in that case the Virgin herself came to the young woman as the ‘”Immaculate Conception”.

This year the celebration of this festivity is even more deeply felt by the nonrandom coincidence with the opening of the special Jubilee, by Pope Francis.

The tradition of the Christian Jubilee engages the Hebrew Jubilee, which is rooted in the Torah and the Old Testament. The first Jubilee, as we understand it today, we owe it to Boniface VIII, in 1300. Initially celebrated every 100 years, later reduced to 50 and then to 25; Today we also see the possibility of extraordinary ceremonies, as indeed the one of 2015.

Jubilee of Francis, of 2015, is a jubilee dedicated to mercy. He asks us to pray that he may have this gift. The pontiff’s words come straight to the heart of each of us, thanks to simple but authentic ways that always distinguished him.

The pagan tradition related to the Catholic celebration of the Virgin Mary is far simpler and I think better known by each of us: It consists in ‘decorate your own home with the typical decorations of Christmas, first among these certainly the “Christmas tree”. That’s why in combination with an article discussing religious issues I chose funny Christmas photos ;), moreover taken together with some friends, because even and especially in the feeling of friendship must be placed the value of mercy mentioned by Pope Francis.

Whether you are a believer or not, as the Pope said in his Angelus, the Immaculate Conception becomes the feast of all (believers or not) if with our YES we give joy to those around us.