Letter from the Pastor
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December 7, 2025Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. It is always a holyday of obligation in this country. She is the Patroness of the United States.
The first bishop in the United States, John Carroll, had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1792, he placed the Diocese of Baltimore— which included all the thirteen colonies under her protection. Over the next fifty years, seven more dioceses were created.
The bishops unanimously named Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the nation on May 13, 1846, during the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore. Pope Pius IX approved the declaration in 1847.
What is interesting is that the American Bishops chose this title of Mary as the patroness of the United States, requesting special permission from the pope to do so, before the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary became infallible teaching for the Church.
Even more interestingly, the flagship of Christopher Columbus' expedition to the New World, the Santa Maria, had a full name of Santa Maria de la Inmaculada Concepcion (Holy Mary of the Immaculate Conception).
The United States of America has undoubtedly been placed into the hands and heart of Mary Immaculate from its very foundation and it is to her that we should turn for all our nation's needs. The December 8th Feast of the Immaculate Conception is the rank of a Solemnity and a Holy Day of Obligation for American Catholics.
Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
SAVE THE DATENext Sunday at 3:00 PM, we will gather in the Church for our parish’s annual Lessons and Carols. It is a prayer service, which consists of short readings from Sacred Scripture starting with the Fall of Adam and the Divine Plan to save humanity until the moment when God was born to us; after the readings, then the singing of carols and other choral pieces corresponding with the Scriptures.
The Lessons and Carols service was first prayed at Truro Cathedral in England in 1880. It was formally adapted and popularized by Eric Milner-White in 1918 at King's College, Cambridge, to provide a hopeful and spiritual service after World War I. The service's popularity grew when the BBC began broadcasting it in 1928, reaching millions of listeners worldwide.
After the Service, please come down to Toner Hall and share in some Christmas cookies and soft drinks. Last year, there was a contest for the best Christmas cookie! It was great fun and the cookies were outstanding. There is an old expression, that ‘cooking is an art, while baking is a science.’ We have a lot of great scientists in our parish! Come and enjoy each other’s company and sweets.