The liturgy never exhausts the Marian Mysteries.  Throughout the liturgical year, various facets of Our Lady's role in Christ's work of Redemption are celebrated.  On February 11th, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.
    Resulting from the sin of Adam everyone is conceived with Original Sin.  When the cleansing waters of Baptism are poured in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are released from the dominion of Satan. 
    There was only one exception!  The Blessed Virgin Mary!  She was free from Original Sin from the first moment of her conception.  So, at Lourdes, she could say: "I am the Immaculate Conception."  Never, not for an instant, did Mary come under Satan’s diabolical dominion.  Because of this, the devil hates Our Lady with a fury.  In Genesis, however, we read that "she," Mary, will crush the serpent's head.  Catholic art portrays Our Lady with the serpent held firmly under her feet. 
    Make no mistake about it!  Satan hates man as well.  He hates us because he hates God and we are made in the image and likeness of God.  He hates us because the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity became Man in Jesus Christ.  The devil's sole goal is to lead as many souls as possible to hell for all eternity.  Our Lord warned us that Satan is a liar and the Father of Lies; the truth is not in him (cf. John 8: 44).
    The noted author, Father Malachi Martin, tells a fascinating story about Lourdes.  When Our Lady identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception," Bernadette heard horrible shrieks coming from a nearby cave.  It was the devil!  She revealed how Our Lady merely glanced in that direction and the noises ceased immediately.  Our Lady's power over Satan is total!     
    Satan is loose in the world "seeking the destruction of souls."  Who can deny his presence when evil has become common place?  Daily we hear of murders, thefts, and violence of every kind.  Modern society worships the false gods of Pride, Lust and Greed.  Gravely sinful abuses of drugs and alcohol are at alarming proportions.  Pornography invades the home by way of the television.  Direct abortion, direct sterilization and contraception are as common among Catholics as they are among pagans.  Parents are constantly worried about the moral well being of their children.  What is the answer?  Mary!  Our Blessed Mother!  The Rosary, especially the family Rosary!
    In heaven the Mother of God is interceding for us.  She is pleading for mercy for her children before the Blessed Trinity.  Mary, the Mother of Mercy, pleads for us with the tears and the heart of a mother.  In our mortal struggle with Satan, we must seek the safety of Our Blessed Mother's embrace.  "We fly to thy protection O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother.  Despise not my petitions but in thy mercy hear and answer them.  Amen!"

Father Richard J. Rego, Immaculate Conception Church, Waterbury, Ct., February 13, 1994, the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time.