Happy Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
(sort of)!
The Immaculate Conception, Jose Antolinez (1650)
(don't you LOVE those chubby little cherubs?)
I was feeling a little bit like a pre-Vatican-two fan today...you know, the people who say "yes, I realize the Church, in her wisdom, made all of these changes but, for me, I like it the old way so I'm sticking with that!" Let me explain.
Today is the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego, "the indigenous Mexican Catholic convert whose encounter with the Virgin Mary began the Church's devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe" who's Feast (Our Lady of Guadalupe), happens to be this Thursday. However, if you went to Mass today, you would have read the readings for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. This is because, when the Solemnity falls on a Sunday, they move it to Monday.
Following so far? However, when the Solemnity, which is a Holy Day of Obligation is moved, the obligation doesn't move with it. Basically, if you attended Mass yesterday, you met your obligation so no worry about that pesky two-Masses-in-two-days thing.
I will let my 8-year-old tell it...her response, when I explained it to her, "That's weak. People can go to Mass twice in two days!" So, that's what we did. I was pleased to see some of my other Catholic mother friends in the pews with their little people. I always enjoy that, though. I love little people at Mass.
My ultimate motivation, in the end, wasn't to "thumb my nose at The Man" by going today to have our own private Holy Day of Obligation (because if you think about it the logic doesn't follow anyway). We just went to Mass, my peeps and me. That's a wonderful thing any day of the week. The fact that we were able to think about Our Blessed Mother, her sinless soul, and what her "yes" means to us, well, that's just icing on the cake.
(Which reminds me, have I mentioned, it's my birthday week?? ;0))
Blessed Virgin, Conceived Without Sin, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
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