Hundreds of devotees pay homage to Mother Mary after the Mass on Saturday celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the patron of the Philippines, on Saturday (December 8), Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma urged the Catholic faithful to be grateful for the mothers of the world.
“Let us thank the Lord for our mothers who carried us in their wombs for nine months the way Mama Mary carried our Savior in her womb,” said Palma in his homily during the Eucharistic celebration at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
The prelate likened the love of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the people with the love of a mother to her child.
“Si Mama Mary, dili lang inahan sa Dios, inahan nato siyang tanan (Mother Mary is not only the mother of God, but she is also a mother to us all),” said Palma.
Palma said that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a reminder that the love of God is greater than the many of sins of man.
He said with Mary being conceived without original sin, it paved the way to the salvation of the world through her son, Jesus Christ.
“It’s easy for men to break away from God and break away from our relationships with one another, but during the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we are reminded that God is stronger than any sin,” he said.
“The love of God reminds us not to be afraid of Him but to trust Him,” he added.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception which celebrates the nativity of Mary without a stain of original sin is practiced by Catholics worldwide every December 8, which is exactly nine months before the celebration of Mary’s birthday on September 8.