Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary - Solemnity

Book of Genesis

The LORD God called to the Adam and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."
The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.

Psalms

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

Letter to the Ephesians

Brothers and sisters: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love
he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

St. Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán (1832-1869)()

Saint Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán (1832-1869) St. Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán was born in 1832, at the hamlet of St. Joseph, Nobol, Daule, Ecuador. The Dominicans had looked after the parish for almost three hundred years. Her parents, Peter Martillo and Josephine Morán, landowners, were animated by a living faith. Peter Martillo was very devoted to Saint Hyacinth of Poland and the future saint Marianna of Jesus. He and Josephine generously raised their nine children: of which Narcisa was the sixth. In 1838, Josephine passed away, so Narcisa was educated by a teacher and an older sister. Narcisa learned to read, write, sing, play the guitar, sew, weave, embroider and cook. Often, her prayer turned into song. Edified and encouraged by her family, Narcisa perceived God's invitation to religious life at an early age: especially after receiving confirmation, aged 7, on September 16. She developed a habit of visiting a small wooded area near her home to contemplate divine realities. She also turned a small room in her house into a chapel. The tree of Guayabo, near which she prayed, is now a destination for large pilgrimages. Narcisa decided to imitate Saint Marianna of Jesus and accepted penances and voluntary suffering for the redemption of souls. She united herself to Jesus' salvific life whenever doing chores and working in the fields. She was thoughtful, joyful, sweet, peaceful, docile to the the Holy Spirit, generous and compassionate. She was especially attentive to the poor. She proved to be an excellent catechist when communicating divine love to her family and the children of her neighborhood. In January 1852, her father passed away. At 19, she moved to Guayaquil to stay with a well-known family who lived near the cathedral. She stayed in the city until 1868, except for the months she lived in the city of Cuenca. She moved houses a number of times to preserve her privacy and to dedicate herself with greater freedom to prayer and penance: earning her living through tailoring. Meanwhile, she helped the poor and the sick and implemented the advice of her spiritual directors. She began relying more on the will of Jesus rather than her own. She shared ideals, and sometimes a house, with the Blessed Mercedes of Jesus Molina. With a desire for greater perfection, and advised by a Franciscan religious, Narcisa set out in June 1868 for Lima (Perù) and lived as a lay member in the Dominican convent of Patrocinio, founded in 1688, in the area where Saint John Macias used to graze his flock. The Lord favored her with extraordinary gifts, and showed her how pleasing her life was in the midst of trials. Toward the end of September 1869, Narcisa had high fevers. Medical remedies could do little, but she kept up her normal rhythm of life, ending each day with a novena and the celebration of the Eucharist. With great joy, she dressed in white on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, on December 8, 1869: the same day Blessed Pius IX opened Vatican Council I. At the end of the day, she took leave of the sisters and said she was going on a journey.This was taken as a joke, but not long after, one of the sisters noticed a splendor and a special fragrance from Narcisa's cell. The community gathered and found that Narcisa had passed away. She was only 37. Afterward, it became known that she had made a private vow of perpetual virginity, poverty, obedience, enclosure, eremitical life, fasting on bread and water, daily Communion, confession, mortification and prayer. All these vows she kept faithfully. Narcisa's body remained incorrupt after her death and emitted a beautiful fragrance. There were many graces granted at her resting place. The city of Lima acclaimed her as a saint, as did the people of Guayaquil and Nobol. The Dominican Sisters of Patrocinio guarded the memory of her virtues and her tomb with great veneration until her body, practically incorrupt, was transferred to Guayaquil in 1955. The documents of the diocesan process of canonization were handed over to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1964. Pope John Paul II beatified her on October 25, 1992, and Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on October 12, 2008. On August 22, 1998, they dedicated a shrine in her honor at Nobol, where her incorrupt body rests. Devotion to the "Niña Narcisa" shows the spontaneous identification of ordinary people with this courageous and humble woman from the Ecuadorian coast.

St. Patapius(Hermit)

Saint PatapiusHermit St. Patapius founded a monastery at Constantinople. He was a hermit, but also a counselor and spiritual director. Two of his disciples went on to become saints and the founders of religious institutes. St. Patapius' relics are enshrined near Athens.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of december 2023