8 things you need to know about the Immaculate Conception
Today, 8 December, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It celebrates an important point in Catholic teaching and is a holy day of obligation.
Here are 8 things you need to know about teaching and how we celebrate it.
1. To whom does the Immaculate Conception refer?
There is a popular idea that refers to the conception of Jesus by the Virgin Mary.
No
Instead, it refers to the special way in which the Virgin Mary herself was conceived.
This conception was not virginal. (That is, he had a human father and a human mother). But it was special and unique in another way. . . .
2. What is the Immaculate Conception?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it in this way:
490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate for such a role”. The angel Gabriel at the moment of the Annunciation greets her as "full of grace". Indeed, in order for Mary to be able to give the free consent of her faith to the proclamation of her vocation, it was necessary that she be entirely supported by the grace of God.
491 Over the centuries the Church has become increasingly aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. This is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:
The Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, from 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 any stain of original sin.
3. Does this mean that Mary never sinned?
Yes. Because of the way redemption was applied to Mary at the time of her conception, she was not only protected from contracting original sin, but also from personal sin. The catechism explains:
493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All Holy" (Panagia) and celebrate her as "free from all stain of sin, as if she had been molded by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature". By the grace of God, Mary remained free from all personal sin throughout her life. “Let it be done to me according to your word. . ".
4. Does this mean that Mary did not need Jesus to die on the Cross for her?
No. What we have already quoted states that Mary was conceived immaculate as part of her being "full of grace" and therefore "redeemed from the moment of her conception" by "a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of merit of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race “.
The Catechism continues by affirming:
492 The "splendor of a wholly unique holiness" with which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes entirely from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted way, by reason of the merits of her Son". The Father blessed Mary more than any other person created "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".
508 Among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary as the mother of his Son. "Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and remained pure from all personal sin during her life.
5. How does this make Mary a parallel to Eve?
Adam and Eve were both created spotless, without original sin or its stain. They fell by grace and through them humanity was forced to sin.
Christ and Mary were also conceived immaculate. They remained faithful and through them humanity was redeemed from sin.
Christ is therefore the New Adam and Mary the New Eve.
The catechism observes:
494.. . As Saint Irenaeus says, “Being obedient has become the cause of salvation for itself and for the entire human race”. Therefore, not a few of the early Fathers willingly affirm. . .: "The knot of Eve's disobedience has been untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve tied through her unbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." Comparing her with Eve, they call her "the Mother of the living" and often affirm: "Death for Eve, life for Mary. "
6. How does this make Mary an icon of our destiny?
Those who die in the friendship of God and then go to heaven will be freed from all sin and stain of sin. We will all be made "immaculate" (Latin, immaculatus = "stainless") if we remain faithful to God.
Even in this life, God purifies us and trains us in holiness and, if we die in his friendship but purifying it imperfectly, he will purify us in purgatory and make us immaculate.
By giving Mary this grace from the very first moment of her conception, God showed us an image of our destiny. He shows us that this is possible for man by his grace.
John Paul II observed:
In contemplating this mystery from a Marian perspective, we can say that “Mary, alongside her Son, is the most perfect image of the freedom and liberation of humanity and the universe. It is for her as Mother and Model that the Church must look to understand in its completeness the meaning of her mission "(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Libertatis conscientia, 22 March 1986, n. 97; cf. Redemptoris Mater, n. 37 ).
Let us fix our gaze, therefore, on Mary, the icon of the pilgrim Church in the desert of history but on her way to the glorious destination of the heavenly Jerusalem, where she [the Church] will shine as the Bride of the Lamb, Christ the Lord [Audience general, March 14, 2001].
7. Was it necessary for God to make Mary immaculate to her conception so that she could be the mother of Jesus?
No. The Church only speaks of the Immaculate Conception as something "appropriate", something that made Mary a "suitable home" (ie a suitable home) for the Son of God, not something that was necessary. Therefore, preparing to define the dogma, Pope Pius IX declared:
And therefore [the Fathers of the Church] affirmed that the Blessed Virgin was, by grace, completely free from all stain of sin and from all corruption of body, soul and mind; that she was always united with God and united with him by an eternal covenant; that it was never in the dark but always in the light; and that, therefore, it was completely a suitable dwelling for Christ, not because of the state of his body, but because of his original grace. . . .
Because it certainly wasn't appropriate for this electoral ship to be hurt by common wounds, since she, differing so much from the others, had only nature in common with them, not sin. In fact, it was quite fitting that since the Only Begotten has a Heavenly Father, whom the Seraphim extol as thrice holy, then he should have a Mother on earth who would never be without the splendor of holiness.
8. How do we celebrate the Immaculate Conception today?
In the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, December 8 is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In the United States and numerous other countries, it is a holy day of obligation.
When December 8 falls on a Saturday, the precept to attend mass is still observed in the United States, even if that means going to mass two consecutive days (since every Sunday is also a holy day of obligation).