Your Praises We Sing--on the Dogma of the Proclamation of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8th

Columbia Magazine, K of C ^ | December, 2003 | Bill Dodds

[Coleus]

Your Praises We Sing

by Bill Dodds

On the eve of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, a look at Mary's singular honor.

In this article:

St. Anne, St. Joachim and the Unborn Mary

Lessons from the Bible and the Catechism

Serious Doubts by Serious Saints

St. Bernadette's Contribution

Scour the Old and New Testaments and you'll find no definitive word on Mary's being conceived without the stain of original sin.

Pore over the writings of early Christian theologians known as Church Fathers, or later saints and scholars, and you'll discover a jumble of opinions on the matter, including some that are, well, wrong.

So how was it that 149 years ago - on Dec. 8, 1854 - Pope Pius IX made this startling announcement?

"We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

The fact is Pius IX's proclamation - presented in his apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus - wasn't all that startling. Why? Two reasons: the development of doctrine and the sensus fidelium, the "sense of the faithful."

In our own time, the Catechism of the Catholic Church uses slightly different words to say just that: "Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, ‘full of grace' through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses" (491).

St. Anne, St. Joachim and the Unborn Mary	Back to Top

And, in our own time, it could be argued that this truth remains one of the Church's most misunderstood - or misapplied - teachings. Those casually familiar with the term erroneously assume it refers to the Virgin Mary's conceiving Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. But the Immaculate Conception has to do with the unborn Mary and her parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim.

Church historians point out that a feast called the Conception of Mary - also known as the Conception of St. Anne - began in Palestinian monasteries no later than the seventh century. In fact, at one point the Church celebrated a feast for the conception of Mary and one for the conception of St. John the Baptist but neither had to do with sinlessness.The Marian feast - then celebrated in the East on Dec. 9 - isn't identical with the feast of the Immaculate Conception which, over time, came to be marked on Dec. 8 in the West.

Those same historians note that the Immaculate Conception as we know it now in the West really moved along two tracks at the same time. One was liturgical, as it made its way onto the universal calendar. It was approved by Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 and extended to the entire Church by Pope Pius V in 1568.

And the other track was theological, as the Church's greatest minds - and some of its most brilliant saints - worked at figuring out what the "Immaculate Conception" really meant.

That's where the development of doctrine comes in. The Church's becoming "ever more aware" through the centuries.

Lessons from the Bible and the Catechism	Back to Top

The glossary of the Catechism defines the development of doctrine succinctly. It is a "growth in the understanding of God's revelation, which continues through the contemplation and study of believers, theological research, and the preaching of the Magisterium."

How is that possible? "Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of the faith is able to grow in the life of the Church" (Catechism, 94). It's the same process that has led to the pronouncement of other dogmas, including the relationships among the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, and the divine and human natures of Christ.

Scripture scholars note that although there's no explicit revelation of the Immaculate Conception in the Bible there are texts that support the dogma:

• "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel" (Gen 3:15).• "And coming to her, he [Gabriel] said, 'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you'" (Luke 1:28).

• "[Elizabeth] cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb'" (Luke 1:42). Pope Pius cited all three in Ineffabilis Deus as the biblical basis for defining the Immaculate Conception to be a "doctrine revealed by God."

Serious Doubts by Serious Saints	Back to Top

Centuries earlier, based on Scripture, most Eastern and Western Church Fathers had taught that Mary was free from even the slightest personal sin but they were unclear about her being exempt from original sin.

For those who need a refresher course, the glossary of the Catechism provides a basic definition of original sin: "Besides the personal sin of Adam and Eve, original sin describes the fallen state of human nature which affects every person born into the world, and from which Christ, the ‘new Adam,' came to redeem us."

Although Church Fathers had called Mary the "new Eve" for her obedience to God's request, some of them and, later, some doctors of the Church (great teacher-saints) weren't about to accept the Immaculate Conception as a revealed truth of the faith. Among those with serious doubts were St. Bernard of Clairvaux (credited with writing the Memorare!), St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure.

The problem? This doctrine seemed to exempt Mary from being redeemed by her Son, the Savior of the world - including her.

Other theologians - especially Franciscans - challenged and re-examined that apparent stumbling block. The "theological breakthrough" was mainly the work of John Duns Scotus (1266-1308), who introduced the notion of "preservative" redemption. As later proclaimed by Pope Pius IX, it meant that Mary was free from sin at the first moment of her conception by a special grace from God. This preserved her from original sin, making her a recipient, in a foreseen manner, of the redemptive merits of Christ.

Theologians say her "preredemption" was the infusion of grace at the moment of her soul's entry into her body. This special exemption also made Mary free of concupiscence - desires for and tendencies toward sinful pleasure - and free of all sin throughout her entire life. To read more about this see Chapter 8 of Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium).

St. Bernadette's Contribution	Back to Top

But the "theological path" from the time of Scotus (who came to be called the "Herald of the Immaculate Conception") until Pius IX's encyclical was not a straight or smooth one. It took centuries for the teaching to gain acceptance.

But it did, in the hearts of the faithful.

Five years before issuing Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius released an encyclical titled Ubi Primum. This is where the sensus fidelium - the sense of the faithful - formally enters the story.

Pius asked his brother bishops around the world what they, their clergy and the faithful believed concerning the Immaculate Conception, and whether these three groups wished it to be defined as dogma. The response to the latter was a resounding "Yes!"

Church historians say that of the major influences in the historical development of the Immaculate Conception, a significant one was the sensus fidelium - the beliefs of the faithful, especially in the liturgical worship of the Church. This public witness was behind the gradual extension and elevation of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. And it was the Church at large that helped create the theological climate in which doctrinal difficulties could be addressed and definitively settled.

Four years after Pius' pronouncement, yet another voice spoke up. It was heard by a 14-year-old girl near the little town of Lourdes, France, where Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous 18 times. On March 25, 1858, the feast of the Annunciation, the teen gently and politely prodded the visitor to please identify herself. That day it was Our Lady herself who declared, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

Bill Dodds and his wife Monica write this magazine's "Family" column. His latest book is The Seeker's Guide to the Holy Spirit (Loyola Press).

[Coleus]

Immaculate Conception

Ineffabilis Deus: Pius IX encyclical on the Immaculate Conception (1854)

Papal Definition of the Immaculate Conception

On the Immaculate Conception (Ubi Primum) Feb 2, 1849

The Immaculate Conception (Ineffabilis Deus) Dec 8, 1854

Dogma of the Immaculate Conception Dec 12, 1904.

On the Immaculate Conception (Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum) Feb 2, 1904

Nine Days Of Prayer - Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Conception: History of Doctrine

Mary's Immaculate Conception

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION DEFINED BY PIUS IX

Immaculate Conception and Assumption

Padre Pio - Meditation on the Immaculate Conception

Conception of the Immaculate Virgin

CHRIST'S Grace Preserved Mary From Sin

MARY WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN

Luke E. Hart Series - Part 2, Section 10: Mary

The Veritas Series: Mary The Mother of God

[Coleus]

Eastern Christianity and the Immaculate Conception (Q & A From EWTN)

Memorandum on the Immaculate Conception [Newman]

On The Feast of The Immaculate Conception, The Patroness of the USA, We Must Pray For Our Country

[Salvation]

Wonderful links!

BTW, for those who are reading this, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8th IS a day of obligation. Plan now to attend Mass!

[cpforlife.org]

The Immaculate Conception

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo [1696-1770]

Museso del Prado, Madrid, Spain

I scanned this from a recent "Latin Mass" Magazine cover

[DManA]

Huh, this teaching is only 150 years old? Good to know.

[Coleus]

Revealed to St. Bernadette Soubirous by OUR LADY OF LOURDES

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

[Pyro7480]

Not exactly. The Church has always taught that Mary was "full of grace," as the Gospel states, and her purity. The earliest Church Fathers taught on the nature of Mary. However, it wasn't dogmatized until almost 150 years ago. Part of this was the fact that so many in the secular and pagan world challenged Mary's blessed nature.

[Salvation]

December 8, 2003, Monday, Second Week of Advent

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, often mistakenly thought to refer to the way Mary was conceived, or to the way she conceived Jesus in her womb.

The phrase “immaculate conception” means that what a person receives at Baptism, Mary received at her conception. From the first moment of her conception, she was free from sin – immaculate.

This feast was celebrated in England as early as the 12th century, and in the 18th century was made a feast of the whole Church. In 1846, the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore made this the patronal feast of the Church in the United States. In 1854, after consultation with the bishops of the world and with theologians, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a doctrine of the Church.

[DManA]

Yes, I knew that. But we who are Baptised still sin. Then how Mary's immaculate conception like our Baptism?

what a person receives at Baptism, Mary received at her conception. From the first moment of her conception, she was free from sin – immaculate.

[TotusTuus]

Yes, I knew that. But we who are Baptised still sin. Then how Mary's immaculate conception like our Baptism?

Well, there's no reason why we should. Because of the Grace of Christ which comes to us through Baptism, we are capable of never sinning again. The problem is, while Baptism takes away original sin, the effects of original sin continue to weigh us down such that we continually stumble in the face of temptations.

You are confusing personal sins with original sin. Original Sin is the "disease" that is communicated to us all through our original parents which banishes us from God's Grace and leaves us weak and helpless before the temptations of the Devil. The Life and Sacrifice of the Incarnation of God's eternal Son Jesus Christ redeems this state of being.

The Immaculate Conception states that Mary, through a singular Grace of Christ, was preserved from original sin at the first moment of her existence. Like Adam and Eve, she could have abused her freedom and sinned during her life, but she never did. She remained firm in Grace as it blossomed in her during her life - centered on her Son and Creator, Christ Jesus - on earth.

That is what this doctrine teaches. Christ's Church led by the Holy Spirit through the Centuries developed, and continues to develop, an ever-deepening understanding of the totality of Christ's Incarnation and redemptive Sacrifice, of which the Immaculate Conception of His mother is a part.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[JustPiper]

BumPing!

[Salvation]

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

 -- Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854)

[Salvation]

Immaculate Conception
Question from Lindsey on 10-27-2003:

Where in the bible (if any where at all) does it talk about Mary's Immaculate Conception?

Answer by Colin B. Donovan, STL on 10-28-2003:

It's there, as long as you are not expecting to find the words, any more than you will find Trinity and many other terms which even non-Catholic Christians take for granted.

Lets start with what it means. To be immaculate conceived means to be free from the guilt of Adam's sin and sanctified in body and soul from the first moment of existence. This is hardly an impossibly thing. By baptism every Christian has sin forgiven and grace given, so forgiveness and grace we take for granted. Jesus, in his human nature, was certainly conceived without original sin. Adam and Eve were created by God in perfect integrity, with His grace, His Divine Life, infused into their souls at their first moment of their existence. So, it is hardly impossible that Mary was immaculate conceived. The question is, was she? Lets look at the evidence.

As I have already alluded, the Old Testament sets the stage. The book of Genesis tells us how God created Adam and Eve and placed them in paradise. It tells us how they disobeyed God and lost the gifts that He gave them. From one moment to the next they went from being naked and not ashamed to being naked and ashamed (Gen 2:25, 3:10). This change reflected the loss of the innocence which was God's gift of grace brought about in them at their creation. This loss, which is communicated to their descendants, Christians call Original Sin -- to be conceived without God's grace within, subject to weakness of intellect and will, the rebellion of the passions, as well as, sickness and death (Romans 5:12ff, 1 Cor. 15:22ff). It also places all mankind as subjects of Satan, since whoever sins belongs to him (1 John 3:8) and we have all sinned (Romans 5:12).

What then of Mary? If all have sinned is she not numbered among them? A short answer would be that Christ would have to be too, since the text does not say "all but Christ." We take His exemption for granted, of course, because elsewhere in Scripture it is clear that He is God, the sinless one. We have to consider, then, in the total biblical context, whether we can say that there is evidence of Mary's exemption, too. Indeed, there is.

Consider again the Old Covenant, which prepares the way for Christ by types and figures which foreshadow the mysteries of the Christian economy of salvation. In the Old Covenant, the Word of God is the Torah, represented at its heart by the Ten Commandments, the two tablets, which out of reverence for God's Word, and at His command, were placed in a wooden Ark, upon which the glory of God descended in a visible fashion to indicate God's Presence with His People. The Tablets are types of the Eternal Word, the Son of God, who pitched His tent among us at the Incarnation (John 1:14), as the Meeting Tent was pitched in the midst of Israel. The Tablets, of course, were kept in the Ark out of the sight of men. The Ark itself was designed by God. It was holy by virtue of the Tablets within. No man could touch it unbidden, and one man died for doing so even with a good intention (1 Chr. 3;10).

The Ark is a type of Mary, who bore the Son of God into this world. And like the Ark, Mary was established by God in holiness and preserved untouched by man (a Virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ). How could the Son of God come into the world in any other way? Since He took His flesh from Mary alone, how could He enter a vessel of sin, subject to the kingdom of Satan? The Church maintains He did not, since it would insult His holiness to claim so, and it is implicit in the carefully prepared and unified economy of the Old and New Testament that He did not. Rather, the Father prepared an Ark worthy of His Son, free from the moment of conception from sin and subjection to God's enemy. He did this not for her honor, but for His honor. And He accomplished Her preservation from both original and personal sin by His grace, granted in virtue of the Son's merits foreseen from eternity. For God, who exists outside time, what could be easier.

There is, finally, a New Testament text which sums this up quite well. Elizabeth says to Mary that she is "blessed among women." In Aramaic or Hebrew this is saying that she is the most blessed of all women. This is then parallelled with the blessedness of the fruit of her womb, Jesus, the Son of God (Lk. 1:42). This should lead us back to Genesis where the story began. In Genesis we have a man and a woman who draw down God's curse upon them (Gen. 3), subjecting themselves and their descendants to the Kingdom of Satan. In Luke, we find a man and a woman who draw down God's blessing, and restore the fallen order of the human race. This is why the Fathers of the Church often speak of Mary as the New Eve. It is the consequence of her role in salvation. But back to the text. Mary is blessed among woman, which would include Eve. Eve was created in justice, but lost it. If Mary was conceived in original sin and then committed personal sins, as, sadly, many Christians maintain, then she is not greater than Eve. However, if like Eve she was created/conceived in grace, but unlike Eve she never lost it through personal sin, then the text is fulfilled, she IS greater than all women. She becomes in the spiritual order "the mother of all the living" (Gen. 3:20), which is what the Fathers and the Catholic Church maintain the Scriptures teach.

[Coleus]

Pope celebrates feast of Immaculate Conception with prayers for peace

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) -- Blessing a basket of roses placed at the foot of a statue honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary and her immaculate conception, Pope John Paul II prayed for peace.

"In these times marked by uncertainties and fears for the future fate of our planet," the pope said Catholics turned to Mary with trepidation, but also with trust.

"Hear the cry of pain of the victims of the wars and many forms of violence which are bloodying the earth," the pope prayed Dec. 8.

"Clear away the darkness of sadness and solitude, of hatred and vengeance," he continued. "Open the minds and hearts of all to trust and forgiveness."

Surrounded by thousands of Romans and tourists at the Marian statue in a square near the Spanish Steps in the city center, the pope arrived in a plastic-topped popemobile, then was wheeled on a chair to the foot of the statue.

The pope said the 2003 celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception marked the beginning of observances of the 150th anniversary of the solemn declaration of the dogma.

On Dec. 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed that Mary was conceived without original sin.

Repeatedly referring to Mary as "queen of peace," the pope prayed that she would help humanity obtain the gift of peace from God: "peace in their hearts and families, within communities and among peoples, peace especially for those nations where fighting and dying continue."

Pope John Paul prayed that Mary once again would give the world Jesus, the source of true peace.

Earlier in the day, the pope prayed the Angelus with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"If Christ is the day which does not know dusk, then Mary is its splendid dawn of beauty," he told the visitors bundled up against cold winds on a bright, sunny day.

Pope John Paul said, "The human mind cannot pretend to understand" the great mysteries of Mary being preserved from all sin and giving birth to the Son of God.

"It is faith which reveals to us that the Virgin's immaculate conception is the pledge of salvation for every human creature in pilgrimage on earth," he said.

[Pyro7480]

Bump for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 2004.

[Salvation]

The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady December 8

Mary's Immaculate Conception: A Memorable Anniversary

Ineffabilis Deus: 8 December 1854 (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception)

Why do we believe in the Immaculate Conception?

John Paul II goes to Lourdes; reflections on the Immaculate Conception

Your Praises We Sing--on the Dogma of the Proclamation of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8th

Eastern Christianity and the Immaculate Conception (Q&A From EWTN)

Memorandum on the Immaculate Conception [Newman]

On The Feast of The Immaculate Conception, The Patroness of the US, We Must Pray For Our Country[Read only]

[Salvation]

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[Salvation]