MARY, THE PRECIOUS PEARL OF GOD
Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
My dear encountered couples:
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary follows the day of the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Both devotions are closely linked. “Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it.” “This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death”. (C.C.C. # 964, 1172)
While the devotion to the Virgin Mary was popular in the 17th century, it was not until 1805 that the Feast of the Pure Heart of Mary received formal recognition by the Church. When Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the three children in 1917, she emphasized the need of steadfast prayers, true repentance and penance for the sins of men. Over and above this, she asked for the Consecration of the world to her Immaculate Heart in order to obtain peace in the world and the conversion of Russia. Within a few years, the Holy Catholic Church officially recognized the apparitions of Fatima. Following this, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942.
One may wonder, what is so special about the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary? What sets it apart from the many Marian Feasts of the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the Mother of God, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of the Scapular, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, etc...? It is her “Immaculate Heart.”
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the precious Pearl of God the Father, the greatest of all His creations, far surpassing the greatness that is found in all of the angels. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the new Eve. Full of grace by the power of the Holy Spirit, preserved from sin as teaches the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and preserved from the corruption of death according to the dogma of the Assumption, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary culminates all what has been progressively revealed to the Holy Catholic Church regarding her beauty, her honors and her glories. To no other creations has the Lord God given so great honors and glories as He has bestowed upon Immaculate Heart of Mary.
While we require faith in Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism as an absolute necessity for the inheritance of our salvation and the Kingdom of God, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the precious Pearl of the Heavenly Father, created immaculate in nature, was exempted of this necessity. To the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Father entrusted the birth of His only begotten Son so that through her obedience and servitude, the world may be redeemed. “Surely, from now on all generations will call (her) blessed.” (Lk. 1:48)
