The Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception

One of the four existing Marian dogmas

Introduction

A dogma refers to the Church's belief that in scripture and tradition, God's truth is revealed to mankind, and that the Church's leadership can interpret and promulgate this truth. In the Catholic faith, there are four dogmas related to Mary: her being the Mother of God [Theotokos], her perpetual virginity, her Immaculate Conception, and her Assumption. It is her Immaculate Conception that prepared her to be a vital part of God's saving plan.

The Immaculate Conception as dogma

On December 8, 1854 A.D., Pope Pius IX solemnly defined as a dogma of Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception. In the document Ineffabilis Deus, it was defined with these very words:

"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".

Mary, preserved from original sin

At the beginning of her existence in her mother's womb [St. Anne], Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin. The phrase "by a singular grace and privilege" refers to Mary as the only human person in God's saving history who has been immaculately conceived. But the phrase "in view of the merits of Jesus Christ" is also to be noted since this unique privilege of Mary does not exempt her from the need to be also redeemed by her Son.

Theological reason for the Immaculate Conception


One primary theological reason for Mary's being immaculately conceived was because she was predestined to be the Theotokos, the Mother of God. It was for the sake of her Son's dignity that she received this unique grace. Since Mary was to conceive in her womb the Word of God incarnated, it was but fitting that this womb would be pure and free from any stain of original sin - the sin all members of mankind inherited from Adam and Eve when they disobeyed the will of God.

The dogma reaffirmed many times

This article of faith of Mary being immaculately conceived has been reaffirmed many times by the Church since its initial definition in 1854 A.D. Pope St. Pius X recalled it in his encyclical Ad Diem Illum on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Ineffabilis Deus. Then, Pius XII also issued an encyclical, Fulgens Corona, to commemorate the centenary of the dogmatic definition in 1954 A.D. Aside from these two reaffirmations in the two encyclicals of two popes, references to the Immaculate Conception are also given in the teachings of the documents of Vatican II: in Lumen Gentium #56 and #59. "Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness..." (L.G. 56); "...the Immaculate Virgin preserved free from all stain of original sin..." (L.G. 59)

Scriptural references that support the dogma

Although there are many scriptural texts which the dogma can refer to, the three main ones are:

• "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15)
• "...and she [Elizabeth] exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'" (Luke 1:42)
• "And he [Gabriel] came to her and said 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.'" (Luke 1:28)

References from Tradition that support the dogma

The three main scriptural texts given above had implications that contributed also toward one early image of Mary after the New Testament tradition: that of the 'New Eve'. This was principally developed by St. Irenaeus and the image portrays Mary as intimately associated with Christ, the 'New Adam'. The victory of the 'New Adam' over sin and death was fulfilled by Christ and Mary participated in that saving event.

Other sources of Mary as believed to be free from sin comes from several of the Eastern Fathers, particularly St. Andrew of Crete, St. Germanus of Constantinople, and St. John Damascene. At the conclusion of the seventh to eighth centuries, they speak of Mary in ways that she was free from all sin, even original sin. They however do not discuss the mystery of original sin in the precise terms of the Western Fathers as did St. Augustine.

The beliefs of the faithful contributed also to the development of the dogma

The beliefs of the faithful, termed in Latin as sensus fidelium, was the most significant factor in the development of the dogma, especially when the people's faith in Mary is expressed most often from their liturgical devotion. Towards the end of the seventh century, a feast of Mary's Conception arose, originating probably in the monasteries of Syria and then spread throughout the Byzantine world. It soon reached England in ca. 1050 A.D., spread to Normandy, France, Spain, Belgium and Germany. The meaning of the feast was contested, but Eadmer, an English monk and close associate of St. Anselm of Canterbury, wrote a treatise which defended the feast and its doctrinal foundation. He argued that the holiness of Jesus required that his mother have a holy beginning. The case for the feast continued until finally John Duns Scotus (1266-1308 A.D.) created a breakthrough that paved the way into the definition of the dogma in 1854 A.D. John Duns Scotus notion of "preservative" redemption was able to reconcile Mary's Immaculate Conception with the universal need for salvation by Christ.

Summary

The content of a dogma and its development along the course of years and centuries involves Scripture, the teaching of the early Church, the writings of the Church Fathers and theologians, and most significant of all, the belief of the people as it is expressed in their devotion and in the Church's liturgy. From the historical development of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, we can see that it takes a long time before truth can be finally defined in the Catholic Church, especially as regards an article of faith in the level of a dogma. It takes both theological soundness and the faith of many people that helps an article of faith, like the Immaculate Conception, to be finally defined and approved by the Church.