I want you to see that this act of love between a father and mother, and the conception of a child, is a sacred thing, because God Himself shares in it.

2. It is good to know these things
Some girls have the idea that there is something secret and wrong about these things. You can tell that from the under-hand way they sometimes talk among themselves. Really, there is nothing wrong in knowing about them, so long as we treat them reverently.

   (a) For example, Our Lady knew these things, so there cannot be anything wrong in knowing. Do you remember when the angel came to ask her to become the Mother of God, Our Lady said: 'How will this be done, since I know not man?' meaning, 'since I have promised God not to receive the seed of any man'. So, you see, Our Lady knew how a baby is conceived and born.

   (b) Besides, we often mention these facts in our prayers and in church. For instance:

      (i) Every time you say the Hail Mary, you say 'Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus'. That means, 'blessed is the baby Jesus you carried in your womb'.

      (ii) And every time we say the Angelus, we mention 'conception': 'The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Ghost'.

      (iii) When the priest reads out the Epistle at Mass on Sundays, perhaps you have noticed the words 'seed of Abraham'. They mean the children of Abraham who have grown up from the seed he gave to his wife.

      (iv) How long does a baby need to grow up inside its mother? Nine months. That's right. Well, the feasts of Our Lord and Our Lady teach us that. When is Our Lord's birthday? Christmas Day, of course - on December 25th. So, if we want to find out when He was conceived, we count back nine months, and we come to the feast of the Annunci-