# Novena in honour of the Immaculate Conception
*2016-11-28*

> Bill Young opens the first Sunday of Advent by reflecting on the life of St. Pope Clement and beginning a novena dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

## Advent and St. Pope Clement

Good morning. This is Bill Young and welcome to the Prayer N Lunch podcast. Today is the first Sunday of Advent, November 29th. As I am currently at my son's house, I have reposted last year's reflections for the first Sunday of Advent featuring the words of Pope Francis.

Today is also the feast day of St. Pope Clement. He was the third Pope of the Church and was martyred. He is remembered for his belief that charity unites us all.

## Beginning the Novena

Today, we begin a novena in honour of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, running from November 29th until December 7th. 

We begin in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my aid; O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell, and on the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

## Day One: Mary, a Woman of Her Time

For the first day of our novena, we reflect on Mary as a woman of her time. In the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians, we read: 'When the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.' As you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, crying, 'Abba, Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir.

The Lord chose Mary before she was born. He chose her to be His own dwelling place. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

## Meditation on the Heart of Mary

The Son of the Most High entered the world through a woman who lived an ordinary life. Had she not been the Mother of the Word, she would have been an unknown Hebrew housewife. She lived, worked, and prayed, fulfilling her duties faithfully like many other women of her era and country.

However, if we look closer, there is a particularity that renders her special: she fully expressed her feminine talent in the service of others and in the normality of everyday life. Mary lived entirely according to the gift of her femininity because God was at the center of her life. Her heart was constantly lifted up to God; therefore, she was filled with grace so that she could see and reason with the heart.

Mary's heart was created immaculate by God and kept immaculate by the Virgin herself. It is a place pleasing to the Lord, a place where He dwelt, and a place where we can meet God our Father, who welcomes us as His children.

## Closing Prayer

O Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, keep within me the heart of a child, pure and limpid like spring water. Give me a simple heart which dwells not on its own sadness, but a heart generous in giving itself and easily moved by compassion. Give me a faithful and generous heart which neither forgets any good deeds nor bears any grudges.

Create in me a sweet and humble heart which loves without demanding to be loved in return—a heart content to disappear into other hearts, sacrificing itself for your divine Son. Give me a great heart that cannot be subdued, so that it may never be closed. In gratitude, give me a heart tormented by the glory of Christ and wounded by His love, which can only be healed in heaven. Give me your heart, O Immaculate One.

*By reflecting on Mary's ordinary life and immaculate heart, we are invited to seek a heart of simplicity, generosity, and selfless love.*