The Immaculate Conception
By Mike Lambrecht
Monday, December 8th is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and a holy day of
obligation in the Church. Many people erroneously believe that this great day is in reference to the fact that Jesus was conceived without original sin. While it is true that Jesus was sinless, the truth of the matter is that this solemnity is celebrating Mary’s being conceived without original sin through the power of God.
In a very unique and special way she was kept free from the stain of sin by the merits of her son so that she might be the mother of God. “In this sense, the privilege of the Immaculate Conception was the anticipated fruit of Christ’s saving passion, death and resurrection.”1 This is a great mystery of the faith, and one that we may never fully understand this side of heaven, but it is true nonetheless.
There are a couple of ways that we can know with confidence that Mary was sinless. The first is through scripture. Depending on your Bible translation, Scripture tells us that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Hail, full of grace” (RSV-CE Lk 1:28). Speaking from a strictly logical standpoint, Mary could not have been “full of grace” unless she was without any stain of sin on her soul.
The second, and no less relevant, way that we can be assured of Mary’s sinless state is through God’s gift of the infallibility of the Pope. On December 8th, 1854, Pope Pius IX declared as dogma that, “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, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”2 Because of this proclamation, made with the assistance of the Holy Spirit through the gift of papal infallibility, we, as Catholics, can know with absolute certainty the truth of this matter. Furthermore, as a proclaimed dogma of the faith we are called to respond to it with a “loyal submission of the will and intellect.”3
Since the time of Adam and Eve no human being had been born in such a state of perfect justice. This does not detract from Mary’s participation in the incarnation, nor does it lessen Mary’s own
humanity. In fact, Mary had been born exactly as God had intended all people to be before the fall. In this sense, I would even go so far as to say that Mary is more fully human than we, after the fall, are.
So, on this very special day, let us offer praise, adoration, and thanksgiving to God for the gift of His son. Let us also honor Mary for her participation in the incarnation and her agreeing to be the Mother of God. It is very appropriate that we would offer prayers to her and implore her intercession as the wedding guests at Cana did. For she is our spiritual mother and wishes nothing more than to lead us to heaven so that we can spend eternity with the one, true, triune, God.
1 Stravinskas, Rev. Peter. Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia. Huntington: OSV, 1998.
2 Pius XI, Pope. Ineffabilis Deus. 1854.
3 Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. See paragraph 25. Vatican II Document, 1964.