Feast of the day for December 8: the story of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

Saint of the day for 8 December

The story of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

A feast called the Conception of Mary arose in the Eastern Church in the XNUMXth century. It arrived in the West in the eighth century. In the XNUMXth century it received its current name, the Immaculate Conception. In the XNUMXth century it became a feast of the universal Church. It is now recognized as a solemnity.

In 1854 Pius IX solemnly proclaimed: "The 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 mankind, was preserved free from every stain of original sin “.

It took a long time for this doctrine to develop. Although many Fathers and Doctors of the Church considered Mary the greatest and holiest of the saints, they often had difficulty seeing her without sin, both at the time of conception and throughout life. This is one of the Church's teachings that comes more from the piety of the faithful than from the intuitions of brilliant theologians. Even champions of Mary such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Aquinas could not see a theological justification for this teaching.

Two Franciscans, William of Ware and Blessed John Duns Scotus, helped develop theology. They pointed out that Mary's Immaculate Conception enhances Jesus' redemptive work. Other members of the human race are cleansed of original sin after birth. In Mary, Jesus' work was so powerful that it prevented original sin in the beginning.

Reflection

In Luke 1:28 the angel Gabriel, speaking for God, addresses Mary as "full of grace" or "highly favored". In that context, this sentence means that Mary is receiving all the special divine help needed for the future task. However, the Church grows in understanding with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit led the Church, especially non-theologians, to the intuition that Mary had to be the most perfect work of God alongside the Incarnation. Or rather, Mary's intimate association with the Incarnation required God's special involvement in Mary's whole life.

The logic of piety helped God's people to believe that Mary was full of grace and free from sin from the very first moment of her existence. Furthermore, this great privilege of Mary is the culmination of all that God has done in Jesus. Rightly understood, the incomparable holiness of Mary shows the incomparable goodness of God.

Mary as the Immaculate Conception is the Patron Saint of:

Brazil
United States