Three Reasons the Church’s Enemies Hate The Immaculate Conception

TFP ^ | 12.08.06 | Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

[Coleus]

The following text is adapted from a lecture Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira gave on June 15, 1973.  It has been translated and edited for publication without his revision.  Note, in this text, he uses the words Revolution and Counter-Revolution as he defined them in his book Revolution and Counter-Revolution.  In this sense, the Revolution is a centuries-old process, motivated by pride and sensuality, and therefore egalitarianism and liberalism, that dominates the modern world and seeks to destroy Christian civilization.  Counter-Revolutionaries are those dedicated to defeating this process and defending the rights of God. –Ed.

…One of the truly Counter-Revolutionary acts of Pope Pius IX’s pontificate was the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception. 

There are three reasons the definition of this dogma was especially Counter-Revolutionary and therefore hateful to the enemies of the Church.  

First Reason: An Anti-Egalitarian Dogma
As you know, this dogma teaches that Our Lady was immaculate at her conception, meaning that, at no moment, did she have even the slightest stain of Original Sin. Both she, and naturally Our Lord Jesus Christ, were exempt from that rigid law that subjugates all other descendants of Adam and Eve.  Thus, Our Lady was not subject to the miseries of fallen man.  She did not have bad influences, inclinations and tendencies.  In her, everything moved harmonically towards truth, goodness and therefore God.  In this sense, Our Lady is an example of perfect liberty, meaning that everything her reason, illuminated by Faith, determined as good, her will desired entirely.  She had no interior obstacles to impede her practice of virtue.

Being “full of grace” increased these effects.  Thus, her will advanced with an unimaginable impetus towards everything that was true and good.  Declaring that a mere human creature had this extraordinary privilege makes this dogma fundamentally anti-egalitarian, because it points out an enormous inequality in the work of God.  It demonstrates the total superiority of Our Lady over all other beings.  Thus, its proclamation made Revolutionary egalitarian spirits boil with hatred.

Second Reason: The Unsullied Purity of Our Lady
However, there is a more profound reason why the Revolution hates this dogma.  The Revolution loves evil and is in harmony with those who are bad, and thus tries to find evil in everything.  On the contrary, those who are irreproachable are a cause of intense hatred.  Therefore, the idea that a being could be utterly spotless from the first moment of her existence is abhorrent to Revolutionaries.  For example: Imagine a man who is consumed with impurity.  When besieged by impure inclinations, he is ashamed of his consent to them.  This leaves him depressed and utterly devastated.

Imagine this man considering Our Lady, who, being the personification of transcendental purity, did not have even the least appetite for lust.  He feels hatred and scorn because her virtue smashes his pride.  Furthermore, by declaring Our Lady to be so free from pride, sensuality and the desire for anything Revolutionary, the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception affirmed that she was utterly Counter-Revolutionary.  This only inflamed the Revolutionary hatred of the dogma all the more.

Disputing the Doctrine: A Counter-Revolutionary Struggle

Declaring that Our Lady was so free from pride, sensuality and the desire for anything Revolutionary, affirmed that she was utterly Counter-Revolutionary and inflamed the Revolutionary hatred of the dogma all the more.

For centuries, there were two opposing currents of thought about the Immaculate Conception in the Church.  While it would be an exaggeration to suggest that everyone who fought against the doctrine was acting with Revolutionary intentions; it is a fact that all those who were acting with Revolutionary intentions fought against it.  On the other hand, all those who favored its proclamation, at least on that point, expressed a Counter-Revolutionary attitude. Thus, in some way the fight between the Revolution and Counter-Revolution was present in the fight between these two theological currents.

Third Reason:  The Exercise of Papal Infallibility
There is still another reason this dogma is hateful to Revolutionaries: it was the first dogma proclaimed through Papal Infallibility.  At that time, the dogma of Papal Infallibility had not yet been defined and there was a current in the Church maintaining that the Pope was only infallible when presiding over a council.  Nevertheless, Pius IX invoked Papal Infallibility when he defined the Immaculate Conception after merely consulting some theologians and bishops.   For liberal theologians, this seemed like circular reasoning.  If his infallibility had not been defined, how could he use it?  On the contrary, by using his infallibility, he affirmed that he had it.

This daring affirmation provoked an explosion of indignation among Revolutionaries, but enormous enthusiasm among Counter-Revolutionaries.  In praise of the new dogma, children all over the world were baptized under the name: Conception, Concepcion or Concepta to consecrate them to the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.

Pius IX: Bringing the Fight to the Enemy
It is not surprising that Pius IX so adamantly affirmed Papal Infallibility.  Very different from those who succeeded him, he was ever ready to bring the fight to the enemy.  He did this in Geneva, Switzerland, which then was the breeding ground of Calvinism, which is the most radical form of Protestantism.  When Swiss laws changed to allow a Catholic Cathedral in Geneva, Pius IX ordered that a statue of the Immaculate Conception be placed in the middle of the city, to proclaim this dogma in the place where Calvinists, Lutherans and other Protestants denied it more than anywhere else.  This is an example of Pius IX’s leadership in the fight against the Revolution. It is therefore entirely proper that all Catholics entertain a special affection for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which is so detested by the enemies of the Church today.

To read another commentary on the Immaculate Conception, click here.
To read Fr. Saint-Laurent's commentary on the Immaculate Conception, click here.
To order your free copy of a picture of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, click here.

[trisham]

But they're not nearly as fun!

************

LOL! Tell that to the Mods. :)

[wagglebee]

I stand corrected. However, there is no credible scholarship that suggests that Matthew, Luke, John, the non-Pauline epistles or Revelation were written prior to Paul's death.

[trisham]

Jesus HAD to be born in Bethlehem BECAUSE God said he WOULD be born in Bethlehem.

What is the test of a false prophet?

*************

I'm sorry, but what is your point?

[trisham]

Therefore, it perfectly relates to this article.

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What relates perfectly to this article?

[kawaii]

His point seems to be about predestinations and God making people sin.

[xzins]

One other really interesting archeological note is the fragment known as 7Q5 discovered by one of your own Catholic priests.

This is fragment 5 and appears to be a part of Mark 6:52, 53. The first person to identify this fragment with that passage was a Jesuit scholar at the University of Barcelona, Father Jose O'Callaghan. Father O'Callaghan was a well respected scholar of Greek papyrus documents, and the story of his identification of 7Q5 is remarkable.

O'Callaghan one day in 1971 was routinely reading books about the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered about 1947-48. He noticed one set of unidentified papyrus documents with Greek letters and, among them, was 7Q5. He saw that the combination with double letter 'NNES' on the next to the last line seemed the sort of combination which could be identified. What Greek words have a double N followed by ES? It had been suggested by earlier scholars that the word originally had been EGENNESEN, which means to beget. However, O'Callaghan could find no known Greek texts (or translations of Hebrew texts into Greek) with the word EGENNESEN and other words surrounding it which would fit into the context of fragment 5 from Cave 7.

....snip....What does this mean? The meaning depends on the dating. However, as previously noted, long before anyone suspected the fragment was part of the New Testament, scholars who date documents from the form of the letters, the type of writing materials used, and similar things, had estimated that the latest this document was written was within 20 years after the death of Christ Jesus! Because of margins on some of the manuscripts, these seem to be only copies, too, not the originals. Therefore, they were already being circulated in duplicate form, at such an early date!

see the link at http://members.aol.com/Judiciary/O.Callaghan.html

[trisham]

His point seems to be about predestinations and God making people sin.

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Well, yes. It's certainly has something to do with that.

[nanetteclaret]

What if .....

you found out that Calvin's ideas were wrong? Could you admit it? What would you do? Have you thought of that possibility?

[xzins]

What if you found out that I am not a "lover of evil"....would you be able to admit it and disagree with this author?

[kawaii]

i'm still trying to get Calvinists to suggest Calvin was right with regard to perpetual virginity of Mary.

[nanetteclaret]

You answer my question first, then I'll answer yours.

[nanetteclaret]

I know he believed that - as did Martin Luther. Maybe you should dig up his writing and post the pertinent excerpt.

[trisham]

i'm still trying to get Calvinists to suggest Calvin was right with regard to perpetual virginity of Mary.

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If that's the case, I predict this thread will be well over 1,000 posts.

[SaltyJoe]

What is the test of a false prophet?

I recall an Old Testament passage, can't remember which, that clearly states how false prophets ask for or demand that "God demands x," and x is money, human sacrifice, sexual favors, and other things that the spirit of the world lusts for. The One, True God has no need for human sacrifice, definitely no need for money, and a big fat zero for sexual favors. What God wants is Purity of the Spirit--like Mercy, Forgiveness, Unconditional Love, Faith, Obedience, Charity, Praise, Adoration and Respect of the Saints, praying for the souls in Purgatory, intercessions/admonishment for the sinners, etc.

[xzins]

If I find that anyone is wrong, I'm willing to admit it. That includes Calvin.

[Coleus]

"They're all out to get us! So we must be right!" :->
>>>

we must be, I feel sorry for them standing on the outside looking in, it's a shame. If they had their dogma and acts together there would be only one Protestant Church. You'd be surprised at how many actually "HATE" us. Some are so obsessed that's all they talk about you. And in the south, they smile at you while stabbing you in the back. So much for Christian brotherhood.

[xzins]

You don't understand protestantism.

We don't venerate our famous Christians, we study them. They're humans.

All humans have a sin nature and the bible says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That includes Calvin, Luther, Pope JPII, Jerome, Wesley, Graham, Augustine, John, Peter, and Paul.

[bonfire]

We don't pray to them either.

[trisham]

You don't understand protestantism.

We don't venerate our famous Christians, we study them. They're humans.

***************

Perhaps a definition is in order. Verneration is not worship.

venerate

One entry found for venerate.

Main Entry: ven·er·ate

Pronunciation: 've-n&-"rAt

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): -at·ed; -at·ing

Etymology: Latin veneratus, past participle of venerari, from vener-, venus love, charm -- more at WIN

1 : to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference

2 : to honor (as an icon or a relic) with a ritual act of devotion

synonym see REVERE

- ven·er·a·tor /-"rA-t&r/ noun

[xzins]

revere 4 entries found for revere. To select an entry, click on it. revere[1,transitive verb]revere[2,noun]RevereRevere[1] Main Entry: 1re·vere Pronunciation: ri-'vir Function: transitive verb Inflected Form(s): re·vered; re·ver·ing Etymology: Latin revereri, from re- + vereri to fear, respect -- more at WARY : to show devoted deferential honor to : regard as worthy of great honor synonyms REVERE, REVERENCE, VENERATE, WORSHIP, ADORE mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully. REVERE stresses deference and tenderness of feeling . REVERENCE presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring . VENERATE implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age . WORSHIP implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony . ADORE implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment .