Two hours before his arrest by the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied Poland in February of 1941, St. Maximillian Kolbe penned a haunting, beautiful question, whose beauty is perhaps only matched in its answer:
"Who are you, O Immaculate Conception?"
Today's feast of the Immaculate Conception falls during Advent, the liturgical season in which Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Thus, the feast can mistakenly be thought to refer to the miraculous conception of Jesus in the Virgin Mary’s womb, which the Church actually celebrates on the feast of the Annunciation nine months before Christmas, on March 25.
In fact, the Immaculate Conception refers to the specific grace of Mary's own origin. From the moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, Anne, Mary was preserved from all stain of sin to prepare her for her vocation of bearing the Word of God to the world.
The figure of Mary has always been understood to be a singular example of holiness. One of the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Early Church was the Council of Ephesus in 431, which formally canonized the designation of Mary as Theotokos—Mother of God—not just Christotokos—Mother of Christ. This title is, understandably, a bit mind-boggling. How can God who has no birth in time, who is eternal, always is and always was have a mother? As mystifying as this title may be, the Church asserted that Mary truly is the Theotokos. From its earliest origins, the Church knew that Mary was a unique figure.
The teaching of the Immaculate Conception was formally proclaimed as dogma, binding on all Catholics, in 1854 by Pope Pius IX in his papal bull, Ineffabilis Deus "Ineffable God." Interestingly, Mary, Immaculately Conceived was named patroness of the United States in 1846, eight years prior. This is a beautiful example of the sensus fidei, or the sense of the faithful—the role of commonly held belief of Catholic faithful in helping the Church hold onto the truth. Pius IX's declaration is a formal proclamation of what every Catholic professes when praying the rosary: Mary is truly “full of grace."
Mariology (the theology study of Mary) not only reveals the graces that God has given to Mary but also reveals what God desires to do for us. In Mary, we see the paradigmatic human vocation: to open ourselves so perfectly to God's love, to God's Word, that that Word takes on human shape. British Carmelite Caryll Houselander reflects beautifully on Mary's unique status as a God-bearer in her book The Reed of God. But, Mary is unique among all the saints because she is the only one we can fully imitate. Houselander writes:
“If we had a picture of Our Lady's personality we might be dazzled into thinking that only one sort of person could form Christ in himself, and we should miss the meaning of our own being.
Nothing but things essential for us are revealed to us about the Mother of God: the fact that she was wed to the Holy Spirit and bore Christ into the world."
For, "Christ must be born from every soul, formed in every life." We see Christ shine in the witness of the saints, in the baffling and beautiful authentic uniqueness of each saint's own particular mission and life. We are given very little to know about Mary: but what we know tells us about who God has made us to be.
So what was Maximilian Kolbe's answer to the question: who is the Immaculate Conception?
Kolbe sees Mary, as the Immaculate Conception, as the only human being who has been fully open to God and perfectly in union with God. The Holy Spirit is with all of us, by virtue of our baptism, but the Holy Spirit was perfectly united with Mary. The Holy Spirit is the love of the Holy Trinity. Thus, in Mary's union with the Holy Spirit, Maximilian says: "heaven is joined to earth, the whole heaven with the whole earth, the whole of [God's] Uncreated Love with the whole of created love." Mary is, says Kolbe, a "vertex of love."
The Immaculate Conception is a bold doctrine and can be confusing and mystifying. But what the Immaculate Conception reveals is ultimately what all of the Christian faith reveals: that we are sons and daughters of a God whose love is far greater and desires our love more deeply than we could ever comprehend. Thus, Mary's grace is meant for us, meant to lead us into union with God, as well.
A statue of Mary as the Immaculate Conception stands in the chapel in Alumni Hall (above). When Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous near a cave outside of Lourdes, France, in 1858, she identified herself as the “Immaculate Conception.” This mural of that scene from Lourdes stands in the Basilica, and of course the cave is replicated on a smaller scale in Notre Dame's famous Grotto. Other relics from Mary rest in the Basilica, including pieces of her clothes and hair.
If you'd like to send a prayer card, invoking Mary's intercession as the Immaculate Conception, click here. If you'd like to read more about today's feast and the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, read this post from Notre Dame's own Church Life Journal.
Mary, the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States—pray for us!
Below is an excerpt from an Act of Consecration to 
Mary as the Immaculate Conception, a prayer that dedicates the United States to the care of the Blessed Virgin:
Most Holy Trinity, we place the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that she may present the country to you. Through her, we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the freedom that has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our President and on all the officers of our government. Grant us a fruitful economy, born of justice and charity. Have mercy on capital and industry and labor. Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the tempted, sinners--on all who are in need. Amen.