The Immaculate Conception
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Readings from the Maronite Liturgy
MAZMOORO Blessed are you, Virgin and Mother, sanctified from your conception. Blessed is the Virgin, conceived without sin, who fulfilled the ancient promise to break the head of the enemy. O God, accept the prayer of the parents of Mary, and protect us from all evil. SYNAXARION
For some time, there have been many ambiguities surrounding the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Some have confused this doctrine with that of the virginal conception, the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. However, today’s feast commemorates the conception of Mary in the womb of Ann. Mary was given the exclusive privilege of being conceived in a state of perfect holiness. In preserving Mary immaculate, the Word of God prepared a dwelling place for himself. Jesus could not permit the forces of evil to have had even for one instant a grip on his mother; therefore, in Mary, there is no stain of sin. |
The truth of the Immaculate Conception in intimately connected with the fall of Adam. Because of Adam, all of humanity was tainted (Romans 12:18 and Ephesians 2:3). Mary was conceived in a state of holiness that belonged to Adam and Eve before their disobedience. In anticipation of the salvation which Christ was to give to humanity. Mary was exempted from the contamination brought in the world by Adam. Thus, she was the first of the redeemed.
From the fourth century, the Aramaic Fathers, such as Ephrem, clearly described thee Immaculate Conception. Ephrem in his Carmina Nisibine proclaims: “There is in you, Lord, no stain, nor any spot in your mother.” “You Jesus and your mother are the only ones who are beautiful in all aspects. Because in you, O Lord, there is no deformation, and in your mother, there is no stain.”
After the Council of Ephesus (431) where Mary was declared the Mother of God, Saint Proclus (✛466), the Patriarch of Constantinople, wrote that God made Mary without stain for himself.
From the eighth century in the East and the ninth century in the West, the Feast of the Conception of Mary was established and celebrated. Theologians than began to question why the feast was established and the meaning behind the celebration. They slowly came to the conclusion that the reason behind the feast is the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Some great men, such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Aquinas, have asserted that Mary was conceived with original sin like any other human being, but was later sanctified in the womb of her mother. They were opposed, however, by the Franciscan, Duns Scotus.
During the twelfth century in the West — and even earlier in the East—the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception began to be asserted. The Dominicans declared themselves against the notion of the Immaculate Conception. The Franciscans subsequent to Duns Scotus defended that notion. They were later followed by the Carmelites, Augustinians, and the University of Paris.
In , Pope Sixtus IV encouraged the celebration of the feast and forbade the censure of anyone who declared Mary immaculate. The Council of Trent, while treating the university of original sin, declared expressly that it did not intend to include the Mother of God in this assertion. The Council Fathers were thus implying that Mary was the only exception to this universal law, the only one conceived without original sin.
Pius V condemned Baius, who denied this privilege of Mary and defended the notion by instituting the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in . In , Alexander VII described Mary’s exemption from sin in a way that prepared for the declaration of Pius IX in .
Pius IX, in Ineffabilis Deus, on December 8, made the following dogmatic statement: “In the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God in consideration of the merits of Jesus Christ, savior of the human race, the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin. This doctrine has been revealed by God and must therefore, be believed by all the faithful.”
The basis of the dogma is to be found in Sacred Scripture and the tradition described above.
Just as Jesus is described as the New Adam, Mary is the New Eve. Ephrem wrote: “The two women were pure and simple, Mary and Eve. One of them, however, became the cause of our death and the other, the cause of our life. Eve, by hearing the word of the serpent conceived evil and brought death. Mary, by hearing the Word of God, conceived Jesus and brought life.”
This dogma is prefigured in the Old Testament by the Ark of Noah floating above the waters which brought death and carrying life and the Word of mankind.
Both Jesus and Mary were promised at the fall, that they would triumph over evil and open a new paradise for mankind. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent’. . . I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.’” (Genesis 3: 14-15) In the gospel accounts, Mary is greeted as “highly favored,” “The Lord is with you,” “blessed among women.” (Luke 1: 28) “You have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30). These texts demonstrate that while the truth of the dogma existed in the scripture itself, a certain evolution and unveiling of the dogma took place. Through the centuries the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, seen by many Fathers of the Church as a ray of sunlight through the clouds, was not clearly perceived by many because of our solidarity with Adam.
The Immaculate Conception is a sign of glory for Mary, the Mother of God. She calls us to struggle against the consequence of original sin and she is most compassionate towards us.
God, who was able to choose and fashion his mother according to his will, did not exempt her from poverty, humiliation, fatigue, suffering, or even death. Therefore, tin the eyes of God, the only true evil is sin. God considers grace to be more important than riches, honor, and any other ambitious desires of the human heart. He does not give these “false goods” to his mother, but the state of grace. God finds this state of grace to be so attractive that he comes to abide in the womb of Mary as in his sanctuary and Paradise itself. We must reflect upon the importance of grace in our life and the true evil of sin which threatens us. We must always seek the grace of God in our lives and preserve it.
We know that Mary was an ocean of grace and beauty and that this ocean continually increased because of her love for God the Father, God her Son, and God, her Spouse, the Holy Spirit. It is through this ocean that the salvific waters continue to be poured out upon us. Let he who is thirsty go and drink. The honor of the children comes from the nobility and dignity of the parents— what a privilege for us to have such a Mother!
From the fourth century, the Aramaic Fathers, such as Ephrem, clearly described thee Immaculate Conception. Ephrem in his Carmina Nisibine proclaims: “There is in you, Lord, no stain, nor any spot in your mother.” “You Jesus and your mother are the only ones who are beautiful in all aspects. Because in you, O Lord, there is no deformation, and in your mother, there is no stain.”
After the Council of Ephesus (431) where Mary was declared the Mother of God, Saint Proclus (✛466), the Patriarch of Constantinople, wrote that God made Mary without stain for himself.
From the eighth century in the East and the ninth century in the West, the Feast of the Conception of Mary was established and celebrated. Theologians than began to question why the feast was established and the meaning behind the celebration. They slowly came to the conclusion that the reason behind the feast is the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Some great men, such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Aquinas, have asserted that Mary was conceived with original sin like any other human being, but was later sanctified in the womb of her mother. They were opposed, however, by the Franciscan, Duns Scotus.
During the twelfth century in the West — and even earlier in the East—the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception began to be asserted. The Dominicans declared themselves against the notion of the Immaculate Conception. The Franciscans subsequent to Duns Scotus defended that notion. They were later followed by the Carmelites, Augustinians, and the University of Paris.
In , Pope Sixtus IV encouraged the celebration of the feast and forbade the censure of anyone who declared Mary immaculate. The Council of Trent, while treating the university of original sin, declared expressly that it did not intend to include the Mother of God in this assertion. The Council Fathers were thus implying that Mary was the only exception to this universal law, the only one conceived without original sin.
Pius V condemned Baius, who denied this privilege of Mary and defended the notion by instituting the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in . In , Alexander VII described Mary’s exemption from sin in a way that prepared for the declaration of Pius IX in .
Pius IX, in Ineffabilis Deus, on December 8, made the following dogmatic statement: “In the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God in consideration of the merits of Jesus Christ, savior of the human race, the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin. This doctrine has been revealed by God and must therefore, be believed by all the faithful.”
The basis of the dogma is to be found in Sacred Scripture and the tradition described above.
Just as Jesus is described as the New Adam, Mary is the New Eve. Ephrem wrote: “The two women were pure and simple, Mary and Eve. One of them, however, became the cause of our death and the other, the cause of our life. Eve, by hearing the word of the serpent conceived evil and brought death. Mary, by hearing the Word of God, conceived Jesus and brought life.”
This dogma is prefigured in the Old Testament by the Ark of Noah floating above the waters which brought death and carrying life and the Word of mankind.
Both Jesus and Mary were promised at the fall, that they would triumph over evil and open a new paradise for mankind. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent’. . . I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.’” (Genesis 3: 14-15) In the gospel accounts, Mary is greeted as “highly favored,” “The Lord is with you,” “blessed among women.” (Luke 1: 28) “You have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30). These texts demonstrate that while the truth of the dogma existed in the scripture itself, a certain evolution and unveiling of the dogma took place. Through the centuries the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, seen by many Fathers of the Church as a ray of sunlight through the clouds, was not clearly perceived by many because of our solidarity with Adam.
The Immaculate Conception is a sign of glory for Mary, the Mother of God. She calls us to struggle against the consequence of original sin and she is most compassionate towards us.
God, who was able to choose and fashion his mother according to his will, did not exempt her from poverty, humiliation, fatigue, suffering, or even death. Therefore, tin the eyes of God, the only true evil is sin. God considers grace to be more important than riches, honor, and any other ambitious desires of the human heart. He does not give these “false goods” to his mother, but the state of grace. God finds this state of grace to be so attractive that he comes to abide in the womb of Mary as in his sanctuary and Paradise itself. We must reflect upon the importance of grace in our life and the true evil of sin which threatens us. We must always seek the grace of God in our lives and preserve it.
We know that Mary was an ocean of grace and beauty and that this ocean continually increased because of her love for God the Father, God her Son, and God, her Spouse, the Holy Spirit. It is through this ocean that the salvific waters continue to be poured out upon us. Let he who is thirsty go and drink. The honor of the children comes from the nobility and dignity of the parents— what a privilege for us to have such a Mother!
