On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX that pronounced and defined in the “Ineffabilis Deus,” the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This dogma states that the Blessed Virgin Mary, "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour 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".
On behalf of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, today we too proclaim a four-fold joy:
We proclaim that God is daringly loving, a God who freely and abundantly gives to his creation: his love - a love that represents the pure pleasure of giving. One should weigh Mary's Immaculate Conception not only in terms of a brilliant move in salvation history. God loves Mary for herself. True love is not utilitarian, but daring, because it is sure of itself and sure of the loved one.
We also proclaim the grandeur and nobility of Mary. She is full of Grace yet without merit, the Queen of Saints, yet remains the handmaid of the Lord. Mary's grandeur is with God and her true nobility is rooted in her poverty.
In proclaiming the Immaculate Conception we simultaneously proclaim the Immaculate Concept of the human person. What Mary is, we should have been, that is, the living embodiment of the un-corrupted concept of man or woman. This dogma is not only about Mary the exception, but also about us, each one of us, the unfortunate rule. The immaculate concept of the human person implies the original unity of creation and grace. And so what in Mary is reality becomes our destiny, meaning that in a very real way she, the Immaculate, will always be a challenge to our human and religious identity.
We also proclaim that sinless-ness and sanctity are "privileges of action" and not mere status symbols. All action in faith is love. Therefore, the Immaculate Conception is a perfection of love. We may rejoice because through sinless-ness and sanctity the Immaculate Conception becomes our ‘end,’ which means that she is our way to perfection, just as she herself had to go the way of Christ's perfecting love, all the way to the Cross and from there to the ever present, yet invisible, core of the Church.
The Immaculate Conception of Mary that served to underline the universality of sin in the past serves today to teach us about the universality of redemption. The same Christ whose love and obedience to the Father preserved Mary from sharing in the universal human disaster, this same Christ makes Himself available to the desperate world of today. The redemption that kept Mary sinless is still there to take away the sin and the failure and the aimlessness of every human being who is willing to accept it. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception implies the universality of original sin, but it also reflects the doctrine of the efficacy of Christ, of the universality of redemption.
Mary is the model of the Church, the one who is totally committed to Christ, His first and most pre-eminent follower, but follower none the less. We, too, profess a commitment to Christ, we, too, claim to be His followers. The original sin from which Mary was preserved is the original sin from which we, too, have been freed. The grace of Christ that was hers is the same grace of Christ that is ours. Mary is significant for us because the central factors in her life are the central factors in our own. The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary has served as a reminder of the need for redemption to a world that was smug and self-sufficient. The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary has also served as a sign of the accessibility of redemption to a world in despair. Perhaps the lesson is that, no matter in which direction we may be facing, we need Mary Immaculate in our lives in order to remember who Christ is and who we are ourselves
Let us remember that God not only endowed Mary with the necessary graces and dispositions to fulfil worthily the role of Mother of His Son, but also the role of the Mother of all mankind. Because of her fullness of grace her maternal heart burns intensely to bring all followers of her Son - more closely to Him still; and those who have wandered astray, she seek more than we can ever know, to bring them back into the fold.
Mary is our model of perfect redemptive suffering. She offered her own suffering as a mother for the sake of our salvation. What if you could offer up your temptations or sufferings for the sake of someone else’s salvation? Would you be willing to give up a certain sin or even bad habit if it could help someone else go to Heaven? What would those offerings be? Who would you offer them for? What were your “straws for the manger” yesterday? What will they be today?
There is a prose written in honour of the Blessed Mother in the 11th Century:
“Inviolate, spotless and pure art thou, O Mary, who wast made the radiant gate of the King. Holy mother of Christ most dear, receive our devout hymn and praise. Our hearts and tongues now ask of thee that our souls and bodies may be pure. By thy holy prayers obtain for us forgiveness for ever, O gracious queen. O Mary, who alone among women art inviolate."
On behalf of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, today we too proclaim a four-fold joy:
We proclaim that God is daringly loving, a God who freely and abundantly gives to his creation: his love - a love that represents the pure pleasure of giving. One should weigh Mary's Immaculate Conception not only in terms of a brilliant move in salvation history. God loves Mary for herself. True love is not utilitarian, but daring, because it is sure of itself and sure of the loved one.
We also proclaim the grandeur and nobility of Mary. She is full of Grace yet without merit, the Queen of Saints, yet remains the handmaid of the Lord. Mary's grandeur is with God and her true nobility is rooted in her poverty.
In proclaiming the Immaculate Conception we simultaneously proclaim the Immaculate Concept of the human person. What Mary is, we should have been, that is, the living embodiment of the un-corrupted concept of man or woman. This dogma is not only about Mary the exception, but also about us, each one of us, the unfortunate rule. The immaculate concept of the human person implies the original unity of creation and grace. And so what in Mary is reality becomes our destiny, meaning that in a very real way she, the Immaculate, will always be a challenge to our human and religious identity.
We also proclaim that sinless-ness and sanctity are "privileges of action" and not mere status symbols. All action in faith is love. Therefore, the Immaculate Conception is a perfection of love. We may rejoice because through sinless-ness and sanctity the Immaculate Conception becomes our ‘end,’ which means that she is our way to perfection, just as she herself had to go the way of Christ's perfecting love, all the way to the Cross and from there to the ever present, yet invisible, core of the Church.
The Immaculate Conception of Mary that served to underline the universality of sin in the past serves today to teach us about the universality of redemption. The same Christ whose love and obedience to the Father preserved Mary from sharing in the universal human disaster, this same Christ makes Himself available to the desperate world of today. The redemption that kept Mary sinless is still there to take away the sin and the failure and the aimlessness of every human being who is willing to accept it. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception implies the universality of original sin, but it also reflects the doctrine of the efficacy of Christ, of the universality of redemption.
Mary is the model of the Church, the one who is totally committed to Christ, His first and most pre-eminent follower, but follower none the less. We, too, profess a commitment to Christ, we, too, claim to be His followers. The original sin from which Mary was preserved is the original sin from which we, too, have been freed. The grace of Christ that was hers is the same grace of Christ that is ours. Mary is significant for us because the central factors in her life are the central factors in our own. The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary has served as a reminder of the need for redemption to a world that was smug and self-sufficient. The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary has also served as a sign of the accessibility of redemption to a world in despair. Perhaps the lesson is that, no matter in which direction we may be facing, we need Mary Immaculate in our lives in order to remember who Christ is and who we are ourselves
Let us remember that God not only endowed Mary with the necessary graces and dispositions to fulfil worthily the role of Mother of His Son, but also the role of the Mother of all mankind. Because of her fullness of grace her maternal heart burns intensely to bring all followers of her Son - more closely to Him still; and those who have wandered astray, she seek more than we can ever know, to bring them back into the fold.
Mary is our model of perfect redemptive suffering. She offered her own suffering as a mother for the sake of our salvation. What if you could offer up your temptations or sufferings for the sake of someone else’s salvation? Would you be willing to give up a certain sin or even bad habit if it could help someone else go to Heaven? What would those offerings be? Who would you offer them for? What were your “straws for the manger” yesterday? What will they be today?
There is a prose written in honour of the Blessed Mother in the 11th Century:
“Inviolate, spotless and pure art thou, O Mary, who wast made the radiant gate of the King. Holy mother of Christ most dear, receive our devout hymn and praise. Our hearts and tongues now ask of thee that our souls and bodies may be pure. By thy holy prayers obtain for us forgiveness for ever, O gracious queen. O Mary, who alone among women art inviolate."
