THE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (DEC. 8TH)

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

On the 8th of December, we celebrate the Conception of the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, by her mother, St. Anna. On this day, exactly 9 months from the the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin on September 8th, we commemorate the parents of the Theotokos, Sts. Joachim and Anna, and remember the holiness of the married state and the fact that God uses consecrated families to do His sacred work in the world. 

Collect

O GOD, who in the foreknowledge of thy Son's most precious death didst consecrate for him a dwelling-place by the spotless Conception of the Blessed Virgin: mercifully grant that she who was preserved from all defilement; may evermore pray for us until we attain unto thee in purity of heart. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.