Journey of Love

By: Sr. M. Guadalupe On December 8th, 2025 we celebrated the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception! She is the Patroness of the United States of America and of Nicaragua. Here, in our Carmel DCJ of the South Central Province, we celebrated it with much love, fervor, joy and enthusiasm! We started our morning by singing Lauds (Morning Prayer), rather than our usual recto tono chant. After that, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast with sweets and pastries and a delightful conversation. Next, we celebrated the solemn Holy Mass in honor of Our Lady. We devotionally renewed our vows of chastity, poverty and obedience during Holy Mass. In the evening, we gathered around a statue of Our Lady to sing her praises which came in the form of Spanish songs that our Nicaraguan Sister (Sister M. Alicia de los Angeles) graciously provided. While she played the guitar and we sang the songs, one of the song verses caught my attention. The verse was written as if Jesus was talking to our dear Lady. He was saying: “I molded you, made you the purest of creatures. From the womb spotless you came forth and from your spotless womb I’ll come forth!” Here, this verse is talking about Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception which confuses some people because they think that the Immaculate Conception is referring to our dear Lord, Jesus Christ. When in fact it is referring to Our Lady’s conception. It really means that our dear Lady was preserved from the moment of her conception from original sin. This statement was much debated in the 12th century and the centuries that followed. It was debated mainly by the Franciscans, led by the Franciscan Father John Dun Scotus, against the Dominicans (e.g. Thomas Aquinas). The Franciscans believed in the Immaculate Conception while the Dominicans did not. This went on until John Scotus summarized it all by saying: “He could do it, it was fitting, therefore He did it!” Later Pope Pius IX defined the doctrine as dogma on December 8th, 1854. Four years later Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes, France identifying herself as the Immaculate Conception. It seems that she was affirming the dogma. On May 13th, 1847 the bishops of America at the sixth plenary council in Baltimore named the Immaculate Conception as patroness of the USA. Later Pope Pius IX approved this in 1847. Going back to the song and meditating upon it I believe that it was fitting that Our dear Lady should be conceived without sin for she bore God in her blessed womb! The God whom earth and sky cannot contain. Not only that but she was preserved from all sin. May we, as her devoted children, do our best not to sin and remain pure and ready for the coming of the Bridegroom!