VATICAN - In his homily on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception the Pope said: “To you, Immaculate Virgin Mary, predestined by God above every other creature to be advocate of grace and model of holiness for His people, today I renew in a special way the entrustment of the entire Church”

Vatican City (Fides Service) - “To you, Immaculate Virgin Mary, predestined by God above every other creature to be advocate of grace and model of holiness for His people, today I renew in a special way the entrustment of the entire Church”. May you guide her sons and daughters on the pilgrimage of faith rendering them ever more obedient to the Word of God. May you accompany every Christian on the path of conversion and holiness, in the struggle against sin and the search for authentic beauty, which is always a sign and a reflection of divine Beauty. May you obtain peace and salvation for all peoples. May the eternal Father who wished you to be the immaculate Mother of the Redeemer, through you renew also in our day the wonders of his merciful love.”
With these words Pope John Paul II renewed yesterday, 8 December, Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the 150th anniversary of its dogmatic definition, the act of entrustment to Mary during a Concelebration of the Eucharist with the College of Cardinals in St Peter’s Basilica.
“How great is the mystery of the Immaculate Conception presented to us today by the Liturgy! A mystery which never ceases to draw the contemplation of believers and to inspire reflection by theologians” the Pope said in his homily. “The predestination of Mary, as that of each one of us, is relative to the predestination of the Son... In view of the redeeming death of her Son, Mary his mother was preserved from original sin and all sin. The victory of the new Adam includes also that of the new Eve, mother of the redeemed. Immaculate Mary is a sign of hope for all the living ”.
Contemplating “the humble girl in Nazareth holy and immaculate before God in charity”, John Paul II underlined: “Mary’s ‘yes’ to the Angel is concretely part of our earthly condition, humble deference to divine will to save humanity not from history but in history. In effect preserved immune from any stain of original sin the ‘new Eve’ benefited in a singular manner from the work of Christ the most perfect Mediator and Redeemer. The first to be redeemed by her Son she shares his holiness to the full, she is already that which the Church desires and hopes to be. She is the eschatological icon of the Church. This is why Immaculate Mary who signals "the beginning of the Church, bride of Christ without stain or wrinkle resplendent in beauty" (Preface), goes ahead of the People of God on the pilgrimage of faith towards the Kingdom of Heaven!”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 9/12/2004 - Righe 29; Parole 405)