Advent Feast Days: Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception 2014

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I caught my 16 month old daughter staring at our Advent wreath when we first set it out on our kitchen table and she was singing "Happy Birthday to you!" over and over again. :)   I told her soon we will be singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus!"  (and yes, she is a climber and she climbs on our kitchen picnic table benches all the time and sometimes she gets on top of table! Yikes!)  

So we have begun our second week of Advent with the lighting of the second violet candle, which symbolizes faith.  Our Advent wreath has artificial greenery around the gold base that holds our candles.  The greenery was my husband's deceased grandmother's and there are many spots on it "decorated" with melted wax, but we have kept our simple, "messy" wreath as another way to remember our loved one.   If you want to read more about the meaning of the Advent wreath click HERE.

We continue to enjoy our Advent traditions and we also enjoy celebrating the many special feast days during the Advent season.

I blogged about 7 simple ways we celebrate Saint Nicholas' feast day and this past Saturday, December 6, Saint Nicholas left some goodies in our shoes. 

"Saint Nick" brought:  candy canes, chocolate gold coins, clementines, Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend (great book!) , Lucia: Saint of Light (so we can read for St. Lucy's feast day on Dec. 13),  Shining Light Dolls: Saint Nicholas and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The "Wandering Wise Men" checked out the gifts in the morning too. 

There are several feast days this week that we are celebrating.  I hope to post about all of them this week, but today is a big one so it gets a post all its own. :) 

Monday, December 8, Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception

This is the day in the liturgical calendar that we celebrate when Mary was conceived without original sin in Saint Anne's womb.  Many are mistaken and think this is the day Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb, but that is not correct.  It is 9 months from today, September 8, when we celebrate our Blessed Mother's birthday in the Church. 

Today our "Wandering Wisemen" stood in front of a beautiful statue that I inherited from my maternal grandmother before she passed away.

In year's past I have had my children color Lacy's coloring page from Catholic Icing that shows St. Anne cradling Mary in her womb.   

Picture drawn by Lacy at Catholic Icing

Colored by my oldest daughter

This year Lacy at Catholic Icing created Advent Saint Crafts: Printable Ornaments for Catholic Kids and here are the ornaments my children created for today's feast day of the Immaculate Conception.  We have them hanging on our Advent Tree and my 10 year old daughter noticed that if she hung her ornament in front of a tree light, baby Mary shines in St. Anne's womb.  Great observation and symbolism, don't ya think?  She impressed me when she showed me the lit Mary in her mother's womb.  :)

  

I plan to let my children watch another great movie titled, Bernadette-The Princess of Lourdes.  See below for an explanation from the CCC of America website about the graces this beautiful young girl received from God and our Blessed Mother in 1858...

BERNADETTE - THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES
It’s February 11, 1858. Three girls from Lourdes, France, gather firewood in front of a grotto. Suddenly one of them, Bernadette Soubirous, 14, drops to her knees, gazes ecstatically at something beautiful only she can see, and starts to pray. Soon the town buzzes: Has Bernadette, poor, sickly, and always behind in school, really seen a Lady from Heaven? The police chief is angry, the pastor busy, and the crowd amused, but Bernadette is calm and brave. Then a spring bubbles up from nowhere and withered arms and sightless eyes are cured. At last, the Lady tells Bernadette her name: “I am The Immaculate Conception.”
BERNADETTE, THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES, is the exciting true story of a visit by the Queen of Heaven that left all the world a source of health for body and soul.

For dinner, thanks to Kendra's suggestions at Catholic All Year and Monica's suggestions at Equipping Catholic Families, we plan to have a "white" dinner to symbolize Mary's purity.  On the menu is chicken alfredo (bought from Costco), salad and white ranch, and vanilla ice cream. :)  Then it's off to Mass tonight as it is a Holy Day of Obligation.

Here is a short video with Father Barron talking about Saint Bernadette and the Immaculate Conception while visiting Lourdes, France:



May you have a blessed feast day of the Immaculate Conception!

Other feast days this week are Dec. 9 (Saint Juan Diego), Dec. 12 (Our Lady of Guadalupe) and Dec. 13 (Saint Lucy).  Posts coming soon!

This post is linked to CatholicMom.com Advent Wreath Link-Up 2014 


This post is linked to Catholic Inspired Wandering Wise Men Link-Up