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God poured His Spirit upon the Virgin Mary to make her fruitful for the sake of the whole world

St Anne conceived in her womb the Immaculate One, like a host; the Virgin Mary, who would become the Mother of God

St Anne conceived in her womb the Immaculate One, like a host; the Virgin Mary, who would become the Mother of God

St Anne conceived in her womb the Immaculate One, like a host; the Virgin Mary, who would become the Mother of God

As I praised God, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, I saw the risen Christ radiant and joyful, the Son of the Immaculate Mother.

The purity of Christ stemmed from the purity of His Immaculate Mother; He is true God, and perfect man.

Snow, Christ explained, is a good symbol of the radiant purity of His Immaculate Mother, whom He so loves.

Christ descended a great distance to join us in our world, yet He had the joy of being with a Mother who, though not divine, was pure and holy. It was fitting that she was lifted, body and soul, out of our sinful world, when her work was done, so that she might 'rest' eternally with Him Who had 'rested' with her.

Mary was conceived Immaculate. By her behaviour and attitudes she was going to influence the Son of God. It was fitting that she was able to provide, by her holiness and purity, a fitting 'pattern' for her son, as He developed in His human nature - even as he remained the same Divine Person.

Truly, each priest can turn to Our Lady for help, confident that she has a special interest in his hopes, joys, fears and sorrows. She keeps very close to her Immaculate Heart all who are configured to her son.

Truly, each priest can turn to Our Lady for help, confident that she has a special interest in his hopes, joys, fears and sorrows. She keeps very close to her Immaculate Heart all who are configured to her son.

As the Son of God looked down from Heaven towards the filth and darkness which He would enter, far below, when He came into our sinful world, He saw the Blessed Virgin Mary, who had been prepared, at her consent, as a safe place for Him who is all purity and goodness. She was like an 'ark', to hold and protect Him for a while.

Mary, the Immaculate Virgin Mother of Christ, has a purity which is extraordinary; and we, who are not so pure, need to do penance for our sins, as well as to pray for help and forgiveness.

When I addressed Christ, on His Mother's feast day, as the "Immaculate son of an Immaculate Mother", he said: "She is privileged beyond compare" - He meant, on her being conceived free from original sin. "But I am fortunate to have such a mother". In this way he showed His deep love and affection for Mary.

Christ did not come to earth like a precious cargo from outer space, carried in a capsule that could be discarded. He was placed into the womb of His real Mother Mary, who then nurtured Him, gave birth to Him, taught Him, supported Him as He died, and was with Him and His friends after the Resurrection. From Heaven, she still helps us, His friends, today.

Almighty God wants us to honour Christ's Mother Mary. Our Blessed Lady's soul was adorned with such sublime virtues, at her Immaculate Conception, that only her son, later on, surpassed her in His soul's beauty. She deserves to be honoured by our adorning her statues, with decorations worthy of a Queen, and crowning them, and in other ways.

It was necessary, in God's sight, that the Virgin Mary be conceived Immaculate - free from Original Sin, and then from personal sin, so that at her consent she could be a fit mother for the Son of God, as she taught and guided Him in His childhood, developing His human faculties.

We adore God, and honour Mary, at every Mass. Our Blessed Lady was conceived Immaculate by a special privilege; and after fulfilling God's arduous plan for her life on earth, she reigns as Immaculate Queen in Heaven, at the heart of the Most Blessed Trinity, close to her son, and with all the Company of the Blessed.

Christ resembles His Mother: His only human parent; yet the Blessed Virgin Mary resembles her own son, through having been made holy by Him in His Godhead at her Immaculate Conception, and through having carried the Divine Child in her womb until His birth in Bethlehem. She was a marvel of holiness in earthly life, through her extraordinary intimacy with her son, and her total surrender to the Father's Will. She radiated from within herself the holiness of which her son was the living embodiment. She was 'transparent', like a lamp.

The Saints and Angels stand around Our Blessed Lady now, in Heaven, in awe of her privileges -- her Immaculate Conception, and her Assumption into Heaven - and in awe of her amazing holiness; yet she is as simple as a child, and kind, like her son, Jesus. We must not be afraid to approach her, to celebrate her feasts and to ask for her prayers.