2008 Woodie Awards
The Immaculate Conception
Chris Sparks
Issue date: 12/27/05 Section: Faith
PRESERVED FROM SIN AT THE MOMENT of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the ideal Christian, the sort of believer that we all seek to be. She is our model to an extent that Christ does not equal because she was merely human, not both human and divine, and thereby is easier to identify with. Here is this woman who wasn't divine, who was still able to say yes to God and embark upon a mission unique in human history: being the mother of God. For this mission, she was blessed by God in several ways, especially through her Immaculate Conception.
This teaching means that Catholics believe that Mary was preserved from original sin. This happened because she was being prepared by God to be the mother of his Son. We come to this conclusion through Scripture and Tradition, as well as the theological conviction that it is a fitting blessing from God upon the mother of His Son. If a husband is generous to his wife, and a son respectful of his mother, how much more so then would God be to Mary?
We see scriptural evidence of Mary's preservation from sin first in Gabriel's greeting to her at the Annunciation: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). In Catholic teaching, to be full of grace is to be in a state of sinlessness, as after baptism or a good confession. Mary was full of grace before baptism had been instituted by Christ and before confession was available. Also, as Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). I would say Christ's living in his mother's womb was very literally "making His home" with her! And the Lord was with her. She was obeying the commandments of the Lord. To truly obey the commandments of the Lord is to not sin.
This is not to deny that Mary needed a savior. She was human like the rest of us and required salvation from God to remove the blot of original sin. However, this was done at the moment of her conception. She herself recognized God as her savior in the Magnificat, saying, "My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47). God got ahead of the game, as it were. She remained immaculate through the saving power of her Son's redemptive act on the cross. To those who argue about the timing, remember that God is outside of time; for Him, before and after are merely the one great now. Mary was saved by the act she helped make possible.
Also, Mary is appropriately viewed as the Ark of the Covenant because she carried the Word (John 1) within her, just as the Ark carried the word of God in it (Deuteronomy 10:5). The Ark and everything associated with it was described by God in great detail, with pages and pages of elaborate instructions (Exodus 25-27). He put such care into the creation of the box that carried His written word. Why would it be any different with the living Ark to carry the Living Word?
The Immaculate Conception does not place Mary above God or outside of Christ's salvific work. It is not contrary to the Gospel in any way. It is a fitting honor to the Mother of God, one quite in keeping with the generosity the Son would show his Mother. Can we, as her children (Revelation 12:17), refuse to show her similar honor?
The feast of the Immaculate Conception is Dec. 8.
This teaching means that Catholics believe that Mary was preserved from original sin. This happened because she was being prepared by God to be the mother of his Son. We come to this conclusion through Scripture and Tradition, as well as the theological conviction that it is a fitting blessing from God upon the mother of His Son. If a husband is generous to his wife, and a son respectful of his mother, how much more so then would God be to Mary?
We see scriptural evidence of Mary's preservation from sin first in Gabriel's greeting to her at the Annunciation: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). In Catholic teaching, to be full of grace is to be in a state of sinlessness, as after baptism or a good confession. Mary was full of grace before baptism had been instituted by Christ and before confession was available. Also, as Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). I would say Christ's living in his mother's womb was very literally "making His home" with her! And the Lord was with her. She was obeying the commandments of the Lord. To truly obey the commandments of the Lord is to not sin.
This is not to deny that Mary needed a savior. She was human like the rest of us and required salvation from God to remove the blot of original sin. However, this was done at the moment of her conception. She herself recognized God as her savior in the Magnificat, saying, "My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47). God got ahead of the game, as it were. She remained immaculate through the saving power of her Son's redemptive act on the cross. To those who argue about the timing, remember that God is outside of time; for Him, before and after are merely the one great now. Mary was saved by the act she helped make possible.
Also, Mary is appropriately viewed as the Ark of the Covenant because she carried the Word (John 1) within her, just as the Ark carried the word of God in it (Deuteronomy 10:5). The Ark and everything associated with it was described by God in great detail, with pages and pages of elaborate instructions (Exodus 25-27). He put such care into the creation of the box that carried His written word. Why would it be any different with the living Ark to carry the Living Word?
The Immaculate Conception does not place Mary above God or outside of Christ's salvific work. It is not contrary to the Gospel in any way. It is a fitting honor to the Mother of God, one quite in keeping with the generosity the Son would show his Mother. Can we, as her children (Revelation 12:17), refuse to show her similar honor?
The feast of the Immaculate Conception is Dec. 8.