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L. I. C. & M. I. e^NN&b iiWp*$£€( titiSNS^?K. The Messeng&r of the Catholic Church (Cambro Breton Mission), LLANRWST, North Wales. A CH^ Vol. I. December 5th, 1909. No. 16. f|» •$• ff«» •§? •$* •$? *f<* ^ •*?<? •&• ^ *&• *$? •$* ^ *&* ^ *st<? •»?<? **!«* *$? *&• *$* *!? *&* ^V *$? *^ *$• 4* ^ *$? ^nut 4 ® a o " Hail, Maey, full of grace : the Lord is with Thee ; blessed art thou among women ; and blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb, Jesus " (St. Luke, I, 28 & 42). On Wednesday next, December 8th, we will commemorate the fact of Our Lady's con¬ ception without the stain of original sin. When we consider Her eminent destiny,—to be the Mother of God Incarnate,—we are not surprised that She should be made the exception of the human race. God having taken entire possession of Her from the moment that He created Her soul and united it to Her body, She was freed from concupiscence and, ever after, exempt from the least fault,—being always careful, not only to preserve this grace, but to merib an increase thereof, by faithfully corresponding with it. We ought, in like manner, to use all possible care to preserve in our souls the sancti¬ fying grace, which we received in Baptism or recovered by the Sacrament of Penance, that we may imitate tbe Blessed Virgin in the esteem She had of divine grace. If Christians could only realize what it is to lose the grace of God, what it is to be His enemy, they would nob so easily commit or remain in mortal sin. Often, then, let us ask ourselves if we, like our heavenly Mother, have a horror of deliberate sin. Do we, like Her, dread it above all evils, and value purity of conscience above all treasures, glories and gratifications ? Another thought that this great feast suggests is, that if the Divine Goodness was pleased to bestow so many and such wondrous privileges upon Maey, because She was to become the Mother of Jesus, because She was to conceive and bear in Her chaste womb the Immaculate Lamb, what ought to be our sanctity, our innocence, our purity, when we ap¬ proach the Holy Table and there receive into our hearts the same Body and. Blood, now no longer capable of suffering, but glorious and immortal! " Blessed art Thou, 0 Virgin Maey, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel and the honour of our people. All fair art Thou, O Maey, and the'first stain is not in thee ! " " Catholic Life " (Washbourne).