In 1858, when Mary appeared to St. Bernadette near Lourdes in southern France, she identified herself as "the Immaculate Conception."

She didn’t call herself "Mary," or "the Blessed Mother," or even "the mother of Jesus;" rather, she described who she was with a reference to this ecclesiastical dogma.

A bit odd, wouldn’t you say?

St. Maximilian Kolbe would respond, "No, it’s not odd at all. In fact, that’s just what I would have expected her to do, since that particular title describes Mary’s uniqueness perfectly."

In one of his writings St. Maximilian said this about our Blessed Mother’s uniqueness:

"God is immaculate, but God is not conceived. Angels are immaculate, but there is no conception with them [either]. [Adam and Eve] were immaculate before sinning, but neither were they conceived. Jesus was immaculate and conceived, but he was not a conception, for as God he already existed before, and to him also applied the words of the name of God as revealed to Moses: ‘I am who am, who always is and does not begin to be.’ Other people [like us] are conceptions, but stained. She alone is not only conceived, but also a conception and immaculate."

Mary under this title of the Immaculate Conception was named the patroness of the United States by the bishops of our country in the mid-1800’s. I would call that a providential action—especially in light of our present cultural and political situation!

The word immaculate signifies purity; the word conception designates creatureliness. Mary is rightly called "the Immaculate Conception" because she was sinless (i.e., totally pure) and also because she was perfectly humble, that is to say, she knew she was a creature and not God! At the Annunciation she said, "I am the handmaid of the Lord;" in her Magnificat she said, in effect, "I am God’s lowly servant."

Why is this so relevant for us in the United States in the year 2001?

Simply because our two biggest cultural problems right now are impurity and playing God!

The impurity should be obvious to anyone who turns on a TV set or a radio for even a few minutes. As for "playing God," the current attempts at human cloning that you’ve heard about in the news certainly fall into that category—a category which already includes such technological niceties as in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem cell research. Remember: technology plus morality equals blessings for the human race; whereas technology plus immorality equals "playing God"—and, ultimately, chaos. Unfortunately, at the present time, the second is far more prevalent in our country.

Which is why we desperately need the prayers of the Blessed Mother under this title of the Immaculate Conception— prayers that we will convert our hearts and follow her example of purity and total submission to the Lord.