This doctrine so filled the minds and souls of our ancestors in the faith that a singular and truly marvelous style of speech came into vogue among them...God alone excepted, Mary is more excellent than all, and by nature fair and beautiful, and more holy than the Cherubim and Seraphim. To praise her all the tongues of heaven and earth do not suffice.
-Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854
The Immaculate Conception is for us, She is ours, and we must be immersed in Her. We are not spectators today, but this solemnity is a call for us to be holy with Mary, in Mary, through Mary, and for Mary. We are the soldiers and servants of Our Lady. We must be engaged in and work with Mary's mission of establishing the reign of the Sacred Heart. At Fatima, she promised the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart, but we must first allow Her to triumph in our own hearts.
She is the instrument, always active, by which God