The Feast of the Immaculate Conception seems to throw off a lot of people. We understand that Jesus was conceived in a totally special and unique way, yet this isn’t about Jesus.
It’s about Mary!
Created as the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary was given this special blessing from the moment of HER conception.
This has been debated long and hard for nearly 2000 years, and there’s a great summary of it on Wikipedia.
For me, it’s enough to wonder at the incredible miracle God has given us in Mary. She made decisions that I could only aspire to, and was blessed with her Assumption into heaven (which we celebrate on August 15th.)
She truly is the role model for every person who aspires to heaven. The perfect and holy life.
Which started before she was born!