Reflection on the Immaculate Conception
written for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2025 I have not made it a secret that, as a born and raised Catholic, I have struggled with my image of and relationship with Mary, the Mother of God. Growing up and attending Catholic school, she was everywhere: a perfect, porcelain white statue (despite her Middle Eastern, Jewish ethnicity) with her eyes turned down and a seemingly expressionless, neutral smile. Ironically, I played her twice in our school Christmas pageants, once in pre-school and again as a third grader. As an enneagram 1- aka The Perfectionist- I wanted to connect with Mary. What we celebrate today is that she was conceived without Original Sin and maybe I am envious of this teaching as someone who wants to always strive for perfection, yet continuously fails. Since those days of playing the part of Mary and walking those Catholic school hallways, I have been asked several times to explain our teachings on Mary to students and adults seek...
