Immaculate Conception and Significance for the Saliesian

The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was declared on December 8, 1854 by Pope Pius XII. Immaculate Conception is a doctrine that affirms that God preserved the Virgin Mary from the taint of original sin from the moment she was conceived.

Immaculate Mary and Her Significance for Don Bosco

           Don Bosco honored Mary under two titles: Mary as Immaculate and Help of Christians. For Don Bosco, Mary was more than an object of veneration.  Mary was for him a living person.  He felt her presence in every moment of his life. He emulated in her the virtue of sensitivity, her obedience to the will of God, and her commitment and fidelity at the hour of the cross. From the very beginning of his life, she showed him the way, inspired his actions, sustained his strength and helped him to obtain his purpose, even in extraordinary ways.  In his Spiritual Testament to his Salesians, Don Bosco wrote, “The Blessed Virgin will certainly continue to protect our congregation and our Salesian works if we maintain our trust in her and promote devotion to her.”

           He had a deep devotion to Immaculate Mary so much so that one of the issues of “The Catholic Reading” edited by him was devoted to writings on Her. In this booklet he summed up his devotion to the Immaculate Conception under three points; 1) Mary is the Holiest of all creatures 2) Mary is the mother of God 3) Mary is our mother

Mary is the Holiest of all creatures: In the gospel of St Luke, Angel Gabriel calls her ‘Full of grace.’ From the first moment of her existence she was without original sin and she remained so to her last breath. Being full of grace her heart was pure and without flaw, nor was there a single virtue which Mary did not possess. The Catholic Church proclaims the holiness of Mary by maintaining that she has always been free of sin. Thus, we are invited to call her: O Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.

Mary is the Mother of God: Mary was adorned with all the imaginable virtues and enriched by God with grace above any other creature on earth. Because of these qualities, she was chosen above all other women to be raised to the dignity of Mother of God. Christians greet her everyday as echoed by St Elizabeth when visited by the Holy Virgin: Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us. At the sound of the glorious title, ‘Mother of God’ we know that there is no one endowed with greater glory, and therefore there is no one who has more influence with god than Mary.

Mary is our Mother: If the title ‘Mother of God’ is so glorious for Mary, it is all the more glorious and beneficial for us who redeemed by Jesus Christ, become her children and brothers of her divine son. Hence, having become the mother of Jesus, true God and true man, she also became our mother. The gospel confirms that Jesus Christ in his great mercy wanted to call us his brothers and make us the adopted children of Mary. When the divine saviour nailed to the cross, suffered the most painful agony, this most Holy Mother and the apostle John were at His feet in deepest sorrow: Jesus opened his eyes, perhaps for the last time, saw the beloved disciple and his loving mother. Dying, he said to Mary: Woman, behold your son. Then he spoke to John, ‘Behold your mother.”

The Significance of Immaculate Conception for the Salesian Today

            In the case of our mothers, we don’t imitate but we literally follow them. It should be the same with Mother Mary. Like Don Bosco we firmly believe that Mary is present in all our activities as a Mother, that She always comes to our aid when deeply in trouble and especially in times of discouragement. In many of his dreams, Mary appeared to Don Bosco as a loving mother. She is a mother who looks after the needs of all works and provides us with financial and spiritual help. Mary takes care of all the boys in the community and protects them from all the dangers of life. As an example, we see Mary’s care for the boys of Don Bosco in his Dream of the Elephant.  There is an elephant in the playground and the boys are unaware of the danger.  Mary notices it and she shouts to the boys to come under her mantle – Mary not only calls the boys, she shouts, she is exhausted from shouting, she is red in the face and out of breath, says the dream.

            I would like to conclude with the encouraging advice of Don Bosco to us Salesians, ‘The God of mercy and his Holy Mother came to our help in our needs.  This was especially true when it was a case of providing for poor and abandoned boys, and even more when their souls were in danger.’  As we place our trust in Mary, our Mother, the Immaculate Help of Christians, we pray for her continued protection always.