FILIPINOS can turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary amid personal and national challenges, Cardinal Jose Advincula said in a Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the country’s principal patroness, on Monday, Dec. 8.
In his homily at the Manila Cathedral, Advincula said Mary is a testament that grace prevails over evil, sin and disasters the nation is facing.
“When our hearts feel confused, when our families face trials, when society seems overwhelmed by division, corruption, or fear, Mary’s presence is like a star that whispers,” the Manila archbishop said.
He stressed that the primary purpose of devotion to the Blessed Mother is to guide and draw the faithful closer to Jesus Christ.
“Her beauty, her holiness, her maternal love, all of this radiate precisely because they reflect the glory of her son and always point to God, the source of all graces,” he said.
Reflecting on Mary’s ancient title as “Star of the Sea,” Advincula said she serves as the “guiding star” for Catholics, whose faith never wavers and whose presence does not dim.
“Just as sailors trusted the stars to lead them safely home, we trust Mary to lead us always to Christ, our true destination,” the archbishop said.
In a separate Mass at the Santísimo Rosario Parish Church, Central Seminary Vice Rector Fr. Narciso Estrella, Jr., O.P., highlighted Mary’s “yes,” to God’s plan, despite fear and confusion.
“Holiness is not the absence of human emotion, but the willingness to listen and to trust in God even when we do not fully understand and see the whole picture,” Estrella said in his homily.
God, he said, is the source of all grace, who is waiting for the faithful to say “yes” to his plans.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary emphasizes Mary’s preservation from original sin from the moment of her conception in St. Anne’s womb, allowing her to become the perfect human vessel for the Incarnation of Christ.
The belief was defined and proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854 in his apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus (Latin for Ineffable God).
The solemnity is a holy day of obligation for the entire Church, as established by Pope Clement XI in 1708.
In 1942, Pope Pius XII declared the Immaculate Conception as the principal patroness of the Philippines, in response to a formal request from Filipino bishops due to the long-standing devotion of Filipinos to the Virgin Mary. Reya Vincent P. Misa
