Four Doctrines on Mary - Part II
By Mike Lambrecht
On December 8th, 1854, Pope Pius IX exercised his authority as the successor of Peter to declare infallibly, “The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.”1
This means that from the moment of her existence, Mary was kept free from the stain of original sin. This was done through the merits of Christ our Savior, even though Christ was not yet born in time. This is difficult for us to understand but we know that God is not bound by time and space as we are.
Protestants will often object to this teaching of the Church on the grounds that St. Paul wrote that, “All have sinned.”2 However, when we look at this verse more closely we can see that he is not intending “all” in an absolute sense. For, if he were, he would also be stating that Jesus Christ had sinned which we know is not true. The Church teaches that Mary is another example of an
exception to St. Paul’s statement.
Often times, objections will be raised that the Church pronounced this doctrine out of thin air in the 19th century and that there is no basis for it in scripture. This view is wrong on both counts. We can see that the Church has always taught this by reading the writings of Saints from the early 4th century. “You alone [Christ] and your Mother are more beautiful than any others; For there is no blemish in you, nor any stain upon our Mother.”3 Also, we can read, “Lift me not up from Sara but from Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free from every stain of sin.”4
Furthermore, in reading the Bible we can see that in the Gospel of Luke the angel’s greeting to Mary is, “Hail, full of grace.”5 The Greek word used here means “a perfection of grace that is both permanent and unique.”6 Mary could not have been called “full of grace” if she were not perfectly free from any stain of sin.
Next week we’ll take a closer look at the Church’s fourth and final doctrine on Mary – the Assumption.
1 Ineffabilis Deus
2 Romans 3:23
3 St. Ephraim (306-373 AD)
4 St. Ambrose (340-397 AD)
5 Luke 1:28 RSV–CE
6 Chacon, Rev. Frank. Beginning Apologetics: How to Explain and Defend Mary. Farmington: San Juan Catholic Seminars, 2001.