When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, Simeon told Mary that her heart would be pierced by a sword.  The sword symbolizes all the sorrows that happened to Mary during her life: such as the presentation in the temple, the flight into Egypt and the crucifixion of Jesus.  Even though Mary’s life had many sufferings, she served God in everything she did.

Today we celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Heart.  “Immaculate” means “clean” or “pure.”  Mary’s heart is immaculate because she was born without Original Sin, and never sinned during her entire life.  In pictures of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, her heart is pierced by a sword and surrounded by a crown of roses.  The roses represent Mary’s beauty and purity.  This feast reminds us that we should try to be like Mary by submitting to God’s will for us.

Desserts make any celebration more fun and the perfect choice for these days would be to decorate sugar cookies.  Use your favorite recipe for roll-out cookies and cut them into heart shapes before baking.  Frost with white frosting and then decorate with red, yellow, and orange flames and a brown crown of thorns and cross for Jesus or pink roses for Mary.