Mass Schedule
Vigil Mass – 4:00 p.m., Holy Day – 6:45 a.m., 9:00 a.m, and 6:00 p.m.
The Immaculate Conception by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
The Immaculate Conception Explained
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is the subject of a lot of misconceptions (so to speak). Perhaps the most common one, held even by many Catholics, is that it celebrates the conception of Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That the feast occurs only 17 days before Christmas should make the error obvious! We celebrate another feast-The Annunciation of the Lord-on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas.
It was at the Annunciation, when the Blessed Virgin Mary humbly accepted the honor bestowed on her by God and announced by the angel Gabriel, that the conception of Christ took place.
Article text taken from: http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Imm_Conception.htm
Banner photo credit: Plihio Cortea Oliveira, www.americaneedsfatima.org
