The Immaculate Conception - Cardinal Bacci

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The Immaculate Conception

1. Let us read the first chapter of St. Luke's Gospel in order to try and understand as far as possible the Immaculate Conception and the sublime holiness of Mary. “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And when the angel h...ad come to her, he said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.’” (Luke 1:26-28) The Blessed Virgin was troubled when she heard these words, but the Angel reassured her. He told her that she had found favour with God, and added that she would become the Mother of God, for the Word would become flesh in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit in such a manner that in her nature the privileges of virginity and of the divine motherhood would be miraculously united. Mary then gave her assent to the will of God, and her 'fiat' placed her on a pedestal high above all the generations of humanity and all the choirs of the angelic kingdom.

It is on this passage of the Gospel that the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady chiefly depends. She was full of grace, and the supremely beloved of God. How then could she have been subject to the rule of sin which we inherited from Adam? If her soul had been stained with sin at the first moment of her conception, she would not have enjoyed the special favour of God and the plenitude of grace. She was, moreover, predestined to become the Mother of God. Was it possible that the divine Word, Who was to become her Son, could have permitted her soul to have been sullied even for a single instant by sin, which deprives us of grace and makes us enemies of God? It was on good grounds, therefore, that the Church defined that from the first moment of her conception Mary was free from all taint of sin, by a singular privilege conferred on her by God and through the merits of her divine Son, Jesus Christ.

2. By virtue of her Immaculate Conception the Blessed Virgin obtained four distinct privileges. (1) She was preserved free from the stain of original sin. (2) She never experienced the rebellion of the passions against the spirit. (3) She was confirmed in grace, so that, in the words of St. Augustine, (De natura et gratia, c. 36) one could not mention sin and the name of Mary in one breath. (4) She was perfected in grace and enriched with all the supernatural gifts to a degree far higher than any of the Saints and than the Angels themselves. Such is our Mother, Mary. We should rejoice with her, and we should have perfect confidence in her and have recourse to her in all our needs. Since her intercession is so powerful with God, she can obtain anything from Him. Above all, she is able and eager to obtain for us that which is most necessary and most important, namely, the avoidance of sin and absolute fidelity to God's grace in the execution of our duties.

3. Let its remember that Mary was not only preserved free from sin and endowed with every supernatural gift, but she never in her whole life committed the slightest fault and she advanced daily in holiness. It is true that we do not possess the privileges accorded to Mary, but we have nevertheless received many favours from God and continue daily to receive them.

Let us promise, therefore, that we shall not be unworthy children of so great a Mother. Let us promise to remain free from the slightest taint of sin in order to please God and her.

Let us promise, finally, to make daily progress towards that level of sanctity which God requires of us in the particular state in which He has placed us.

The Feast of All Saints - Cardinal Bacci

The Feast of All Saints

1. Today's feast should inspire in us a burning desire to become holy. Men long for many things in this world, things which are often useless and even sinful. They desire riches, pleasure, honours, success and material comfort. These things may be lawful, but they cannot satisfy the human heart which is made for God. Whenever we achieve any of our ambitions in this world, are we in fact happy or even perfectly satisfied? The truth is that we are not, because the soul is greater than the objects which surround us. God alone can fill and satisfy it.

Sanctity should be our principal ambition. We should yearn to be more closely united to God so that His Divinity may be reflected in our thoughts and in our actions. If we enjoy God's friendship, we shall become more like God and shall be lifted up above petty mundane considerations. Perhaps we doubt our ability to reach such a high spiritual level? Even so, we should nevertheless desire to reach it, and not just, in a passing and indifferent manner, but constantly and actively. We should keep our desire alive by repeating it to ourselves and by continually praying for God's grace to fulfil it. "I intend to become holy," said little Dominic Savio, and he kept the promise which he had made to God. Many people have formed the same resolution, both desert hermits and University professors, both humble workmen and rulers of nations. Since we ought to have the same intention, what is there to prevent us? Let us make this resolution now and put it into effect with the help of God.

2. God addressed the same command to all of us. “You shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy.” (Lev. 11:44; Peter 1:16) “You are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt. 5:48)

We are all obliged to strive to become holy, to work hard towards this end, and to ask for the grace to sustain us in our efforts. We should not say that sanctity is impossible for us, because everything is possible with God's help. Let us imagine that we are in Heaven and can behold the innumerable choirs of the Blessed enjoying the unlimited and unending happiness of God's company. Nevertheless, they were once people like ourselves, with the same passions, failings, and temptations. They fought valiantly, supported by the grace of God; they conquered and were awarded the palm of victory. Now they enjoy everlasting happiness. Let us remember the words of St. Augustine: "If others, why not I?" If they succeeded in becoming holy, why cannot I do likewise?

3. In these days when the Church is so anxious to foster devotion to the Saints, let us fervently invoke their patronage. They arc our brothers and they reach out lovingly to assist us, because they desire us to share in their glory.

As we know, the Church is threefold. There is the Church militant, to which we belong; there is the Church suffering, which consists of the souls in Purgatory; and there is the Church triumphant, which is made up of the Blessed in Heaven. The bond of charity unites all three divisions. We who are still on earth have brothers and sisters in eternal glory who love us and intercede for us. Let us pray to them fervently and constantly. Above all, let us seek to imitate the sanctity which won such glory for them.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Cardinal Bacci

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

1. It is generally believed that Our Blessed Lady died, since she would not have wished to escape death any more than her divine Son did. Our Lord, however, had seen her sharing in His agony and death upon Mount Calvary, and He willed that her own death would be so peaceful as hardly to justify the name.

The just die in the love of God and the martyrs died for the love of God. But Mary died consumed by the love of God. It was not disease which brought an end to her life, but love. Her love for Jesus was more ardent and more perfect than that of any other creature. She loved Him when she held Him in her arms in the stable at Bethlehem, when she fled with Him into Egypt, and when she offered Him in the temple to His heavenly Father. She loved Him when she found Him after He had been lost and when she looked after Him in their home at Nazareth. She loved Him as she followed Him to His death on Calvary. She loved him in the joy of His Resurrection and, subsequently, of His Ascension into Heaven. Jesus desired her to remain on earth for a while to comfort the infant Church and to initiate the loving patronage which she would exercise over it in Heaven. Her love grew from day to day until it entirely consumed her and her immaculate heart could no longer contain it. Mary fulfilled in a most perfect manner the Creator's command to His creatures to love Him with all their hearts and with all their strength. Consequently, her love reached such a peak that her soul in its final ecstasy glided from her body.

Let us ask our Mother, Mary, to help us to die with the love and grace of God in our hearts, and with the names of Jesus and Mary on our lips.

2. Even as Christ by His own power rose from the grave, so by reason of His intervention the soul of Mary was reunited, after a short separation, with her body, and she was taken up body and soul into everlasting glory. It was fitting that this privilege should have been bestowed on the Mother of God. It would have been unbecoming for the immaculate flesh in which the divine body of Jesus was formed to have been allowed to corrupt in the grave. It was fitting, too, that she who was to be proclaimed Queen of Angels and of men should have come immediately to her throne of glory with her humanity integral and unimpaired. Her resurrection was, moreover, the reward of her virginal purity. From the first moment of her conception she was preserved free from original sin and from every evil inclination, and throughout her life she had advanced farther and farther in the way of perfection.

We shall rise one day also, O Blessed Mother. Grant in your great love for us that we may so imitate your example as to deserve to rise in glory and to be associated with you in everlasting happiness.

3. After she had risen, Mary was gloriously taken up into Heaven. Jesus has ascended into Heaven by His own power, but Mary was borne aloft by the Angels, whose Queen she was soon to be proclaimed. She reigns in Heaven with her divine Son and looks down in love and mercy on her exiled children, whom she is ever ready to assist. She was the humblest and most exalted of creatures (Dante, Par. XXXIII, 2) for when told that she was to be the Mother of God, she desired to be called His handmaid.

Humility is the Mother of all the virtues even as pride is the source of all the vices. If we wish to share in Mary's triumph, we must first of all share in her humility.

“Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,” Jesus has said, “and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) “God resists the proud,” we are reminded by the Apostle James, “but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) The glorious Assumption of Mary contains a lesson in humility for all of us.

Feast of the Sacred Heart

Litany of the Sacred Heart


Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.


V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.

R. Make our hearts like to Thine.

Let us pray;

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

St David's Day

Happy St David's Day!