[Pyro7480]

I excerpted this from the Catholic Encyclopedia entry. I included some of the most important and more interesting details, and boldfaced some key points.

[Pyro7480]

Catholic ping, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 2004.

[Aquinasfan]

It's a beautiful doctrine. A heading-out-to-noon-Mass bump 8-)

I like the typological argument in favor of Mary's Immaculate Conception.

The Ark of the Covenant is an Old Testament type for Mary, since the Ark contained Aaron's staff, representing the priesthood, manna, the bread from heaven, and the Ten Commandments, or God's Word. The Ark was kept in the Holy of Holies, a part of the Temple so sacred that anyone who entered it, aside from the chief priest, would be immediately struck dead.

Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant, contained Christ within her body, who is the eternal High Priest, the new Bread from Heaven, and the Word of God.

Revelation 11:19-12:1

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

[sully777]

"No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture." -- Catholic Encyclopedia: Immaculate Conception.

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Noted

[Kolokotronis]

"Today the Conception of St. Anne is in the Greek Church one of the minor feasts of the year. The lesson in Matins contains allusions to the apocryphal "Proto-evangelium" of St. James, which dates from the second half of the second century (see SAINT ANNE). To the Greek Orthodox of our days, however, the feast means very little; they continue to call it "Conception of St. Anne", indicating unintentionally, perhaps, the active conception which was certainly not immaculate. In the Menaea of 9 December this feast holds only the second place, the first canon being sung in commemoration of the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection at Constantinople." This is absolutely untrue and frankly I am surprised that the authors of the article would print such a falsehood. Today is called the "Forefeast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by St. Anna" and tomorrow, December 9th is the actual feast day. Both days are major feast days and come first in the Menaion, not second. This type of provocative "scholarship", followed by the medieval, Western scholasticism of the rest of the article only creates division between the Church in the East and the Church in the West. Lest anyone believe on account of this article that the Orthodox Church does not hold virtually the same beliefs as the Roman Church on this matterr, below is an icon of St. Anna with the Theotokos. Note the three "stars" on the shoulders and forehead of the Theotokos. These signify her perpetual virginity and sinlessness. As I have written on another thread, the "dogma" of the Immaculate Conception is an innovation of the Western Church, indeed only of the Latin Rite of the Western Church and only 150 years old. Its roots are in the scholasticism of the middle ages and an understanding of the Augustinian construct of "original sin" unknown in the Church in the East.

[FourtySeven]

Bump! I just finished reading this from the New Advent site directly. I came to FR and did a search of Immaculate Conception to see what's been discussed about it here. This really is an excellent description and defense both historically and Scripturally of it.