The Immaculate Conception

I have so much to say about why I believe in the truth of this feast, but Father Dwight Longenecker has such a beautiful story that I would rather share his words on the matter. Here are some of the highlights:

"During a visit to Greenville, SC I debated the matter with a Catholic priest named Fr. Paul...He was very kind and listened to me carefully. I explained how Thomas Aquinas didn't believe it and how it wasn't necessary because then St Anne would also have had to be immaculate and how it was a late dogma...blah, blah, blah. Finally he just chuckled and said, "We believe in the Immaculate Conception because the Pope tells us to. Pass the fried chicken."

"I no longer simply understood the dogma and the logic of it, but I saw the beauty of it and the wonder of the simple girl of Nazareth becoming the second Eve. As I realized I believed in the Immaculate Conception I also suddenly became more aware, in a deeper way--a way very difficult to articulate--of the reality and historical concreteness of the incarnation itself. Suddenly Jesus Christ--Son of God and Son of Mary--was more real than he ever was before and I also grasped why the church requires this belief and does not allow it to remain a pious option."

"I was finally ordained as a Catholic priest back in Greenville, about eighteen years after the conversation with Fr.Paul"


Full story here.