MARY'S TITLES

The Immaculate Conception

by John O'Connell

On December 8, 1854 Venerable Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a dogma of faith in the bull Ineffabilis Deus. The decree of the bull reads:

Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ Our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and our own, We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most 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 the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

Our Lady was "full of grace" (Lk 1:28) from the first instance of her existence. She always possesed the Divine life of God within her soul. God bestowed this "singular grace and privilege" upon Mary because He had predestined her to be the Mother of the Divine Savior.

The Fathers of the Church spoke of the sinlessness of Mary, but they did not explicitly assert that she was free from original sin. But the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception was implied in many of their statements. St. Ephraem wrote that "Certainly you alone and your Mother are from every aspect completely beautiful, for there is no blemish in thee, my Lord, and no stain in thy Mother."

During the Middle Ages, many theologians opposed the belief that the Virgin Mary was always free from original sin. (The Church had not taught it as a revealed doctrine at that time.) Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan theologian, made a significant advance in the development of the theology of the Immaculate Conception. He indicated that Mary could have been and indeed was pre-redeemed by Christ. In other words, the remarkable grace of the Immaculate Conception was accorded to the Virgin Mary in view of the redemption that Christ was to effect for the human race. Our Lady therefore was "pre-redeemed" by the anticipatory merits that Christ would win through the Cross.

The royal House of Spain exerted much influence on the Papacy in support of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. And the Society of Jesus made important contributions in defending and promoting the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Papacy proved to be more and more receptive to the doctrine over the centuries culminating in Pope Pius IX's solemn definition of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Two authentic private revelations in 19th century France aided in the spread of popular devotion to the Immaculate Conception: The Holy Virgin's gift of the Miraculous Medal (originally known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception) to St. Catherine Laboure and the apparition of the Immaculate.

Below is prose written in honor of the Blessed Mother (circa 11th century) that alludes to her Immaculate Conception:

Inviolate, spotless and pure art thou, O Mary, who wast made the radiant gate of the King. Holy mother of Christ most dear, receive our devout hymn and praise. Our hearts and tongues now ask of thee that our souls and bodies may be pure. By thy holy prayers obtain for us forgiveness for ever, O gracious queen. O Mary, who alone among women art inviolate.

John O'Connell is the Editor of The Catholic Faith magazine.

© 1996 Inter Mirifica