On this great solemnity, Fr. Chris reflects on the mystery at the heart of the Marian Fathers’ charism: the Immaculate Conception—God’s greatest act of mercy ever given to a creature. Despite the grief of losing his father just days earlier, he reminds us that Our Lady’s purity is the blueprint for our own path to holiness. Long before the dogma was defined in 1854, the Church cherished this truth in Scripture and Sacred Tradition, seen in Gabriel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace,” revealing Mary as wholly transformed by divine life.

January 1 is not just New Year’s Day; it’s also the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, a Holy Day of Obligation. Father Chris Alar, MIC, shows how the concept of Mary, Mother of God is revealed in Sacred Scripture, and how, by carrying  in her womb a divine Person, Mary contributed the genetic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ.

Listen to Fr. Mark Baron, MIC, explain the important topic of Understanding Papal Authority: Divine Origins & Biblical Foundations.