“Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”
The Immaculate Conception is one of the greatest and most profound things God has ever done for creation. “The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person ‘in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’ and chose her’ in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love.’[i]”[ii]
What is the Immaculate Conception? First, it is important to point out what it is not; It is not when the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary to conceive Jesus, that is called the Incarnation. It is also not the belief that Mary was conceived “by the power of the Holy Spirit”, in the same way Jesus was. This too is incorrect. Mary was conceived and born just like every human being before and after her.
The Immaculate Conception is “the special favor God gave the Blessed Virgin Mary by which she was free from original sin from the first moment of her life.”[iii] From the very moment of her existence in her mother’s womb she was spared from original sin. “In the words of Pope Pius IX’s solemn definition, made in 1854, ‘The most holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.’[iv] The means that since the first moment of her human existence the mother of Jesus was preserved from the common defect of estrangement from God, which humanity in general inherits through the sin of Adam. Her freedom from sin was an unmerited gift of God or special grace, and an exception to the law, or privilege, which no other created person has received.”[v]
Why would God do this just for Mary? God chose Mary from the beginning to be the perfect vessel to house the holiest of holies. If we use faith and reason it makes sense that God did this special favor because how could the almighty God who is perfect be conceived and be born from a sinful person? God would make Mary perfect so that Jesus’ humanity was perfect. Mary she is known as the “New Eve” and the new “Ark of the Covenant”. The Ark was of perfection and had no blemish what so ever on it or in it because it was carrying the most precious things of God at the time. Likewise, Mary had no blemish because of what she was housing, Jesus Christ. Mary is the new Eve in that she was like Eve before the fall, without sin. She fulfilled what God had promised to the serpent.
What did God promise to the serpent? When we read in Genesis 3:15 we see God saying there would be a woman who would come and her offspring would crush the head of the serpent. We know Jesus Christ crushed the head of Satan and He was the seed of Mary.
Where can we find the Immaculate Conception in scripture? We can find it expressed in the greeting from the archangel Gabriel to Mary in Luke’s gospel when he says, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”[vi] Some translations have this line saying, “highly favored daughter”, but this isn’t the best possible translation of this text. The phrase, “full of grace” is from the Greek translation and is a better translation because while Mary was a highly favored daughter, the text does not express the word “daughter” in the translation. This phrase when looking at the Greek text shows a perfect passive participle of “charitoo”, meaning, “to fill or endow with grace”. Sense the language is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary has been filled with grace prior to the angel telling her this. This is important because it shows that she is far more special than any person before her, and she was filled with grace lacking nothing before the arrival of Gabriel.[vii]
Could Mary have said “no”? Mary was so “full of Grace” that she could not say “no”. This is similar to saying that Michael Jordan, who is considered one of the greatest basketball players ever, he is so “full of skill” that it would be impossible for him to miss an uncontested slam dunk. This “fullness of Grace” does not mean that Mary does not have a free will, just as much as it does not mean that Michael Jordan does not have the free will to dunk, both Michael and Mary have to do want it is that they have been given the “skill” and “grace” respectively to do, this obedience is free will.
Another key point to this passage is that an angel, an archangel at that, one of the most powerful beings to exist and he is coming to a lesser being, Mary, on a bended knee proclaiming her grace from God. That she is filled with Grace that is not lacking. “The Archangel Gabriel is full of veneration for Mary when he greets her, since he is aware of the extent of her participation in grace and virtue, and the degree of her exceptional union with Go. The initial grace God bestows on the Blessed Virgin disposes her for divine Motherhood. God’s gift of supernatural life to her exceeds that of all the Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors and Virgins combined. It reaches far beyond the experience of anyone who has ever lived, or ever will live, until the end of time. God dwells in Our Lady more than in all the angels and saints, since the foundation of the world, taken together.”[viii] We all have grace to some extent, but Mary was full of Grace, meaning without any deprivation of Grace unlike us who are missing some grace due to our Original Sin.
How is Mary without sin? Does it not say, “all have sinned” in scripture? Many Protestants who object to the Immaculate Conception point this passage in scripture. In the Letter to the Romans St. Paul says, “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.”[ix] If we were to take this literally and a sweeping rule with no exceptions then this would put Jesus under this umbrella too because Jesus was fully human. Of course every Christian would say this is not true and make the exception. However, there are more to be seen. For example, what about children under the age of reason? Remember to sin we must have full knowledge and full consent. A little child does not know fully what they are doing and are not held to the “all have sinned”. Later in the same letter St. Paul speaks of Jacob and Esau who “had done nothing either good or bad”[x]. So St. Paul is saying they have not sinned. Another example would be anyone with mental disabilities who do not have full knowledge or control over their actions. They would not be held to the same standard of sinning. These are just a few examples to show that if we can make a case for other humans and the Son of God, one can make the case there can be an exception for Mary.
If someone were to look at this passage as seeing the “sinning” be that of original sin, then again we see Jesus obtain original sin due to His mother who would have been born with original sin. Thanks be to God she was preserved by God from the stain of original sin.
Wasn’t the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception invented in the 1840’s? No, that is not the case. Pope Pius IX made a formal declaration of the doctrine, but it was because the magisterium thought the faithful could be helped by this particular doctrine of faith that all already believed in. The belief in Mary’s Immaculate Conception can be traced back all the way to the first Christians. In the Council of Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 it was stated, “But, as the body of Christ was formed of the pure blood of the Immaculate Virgin…”[xi] Here are some quotes from the early Church Fathers (all before the bible was formed):
St. Augustine (415 AD): “We must except the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honor to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon her who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin.”[xii]
Ephraim the Syrian (361 AD): “You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others, for there is neither blemish in you nor any stains upon your Mother. Who of my children can compare in beauty to these?”[xiii]
Hippolytus (235 AD): “He [Jesus] was the ark formed of incorruptible wood. For by this is signified that His tabernacle [Mary] was exempt from defilement and corruption”[xiv]
St. Irenaeus (189 AD): “Consequently, then, Mary the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying, "Behold, 0 Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word." Eve . . . who was then still a virgin although she had Adam for a husband — for in paradise they were both naked but were not ashamed; for, having been created only a short time, they had no understanding of the procreation of children . . . having become disobedient [sin], was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient [no sin], was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race. . . . Thus, the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith.”[xv]
What is even more fascinating is that Martin Luther, who separated from the Catholic Church, believed in the Immaculate Conception: "It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin"[xvi] Also, he said, "She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin—something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil.”[xvii] Both of these quotes were several hundred years before the doctrine was pronounced a Dogma, and both quotes were from Luther after he left the Catholic Church. This should clearly show that the Catholic Church has always believed and taught in the Immaculate Conception.
Since Mary had no sin, did she need salvation? Yes, she still needed a savior. While free from original sin, she was not promised salvation and heaven. This was only achieved through the cross of Jesus, which won salvation for all, including Mary who was at the foot of the cross. This is why Mary says, “my spirit rejoices in God my savior”
If Mary had no sin and was the mother of God, wouldn’t she be equal to God? False. Mary was in no way equal to God since God created her. She makes this very clear when she states “He has looked with favor on His lowly servant”[xviii]. Also when she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”[xix] She understood she was a servant of God, and did not and would not equate herself with God.
Why is the Immaculate Conception important? The more we can imitate Mary the more we can connect ourselves with God. “The two essential conditions for achieving divine union are found in their fullness in Mary. The first condition, which is a negative one, is that there be nothing in the soul’s will which is contrary to the divine will; that is, no attachment which would cause it to be subject to a creature, so that this creature would rule in its heart in any way, or impel it to act for love of this same creature; all such attachments must be eliminated.”[xx] Because Mary had no sin, “she felt no attraction towards sin or any of the allurements of the devil.”[xxi] We too must strive to not fall in the allure of sin. “The second condition, which is positive and constructive, and is the consequence of the first, is that the human will be moved in all and through all, only by the will of God. This was realized so perfectly in the most pure soul of Mary Immaculate that she never had even the faintest shadow of an attachment to a creature; in her soul there was never any impression of a creature which could move her to act; she was so completely seized by divine love that she could act only under the inspiration and ‘motion of the Holy Spirit.’”[xxii]
[i] Cf. Eph. 1:3-4
[ii] CCC492
[iii] St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism Q. 31
[iv] Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854: DS 2803
[v] Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 266
[vi] Lk. 1:28
[vii] The Essential Catholic Survival Guide pgs. 126-127
[viii] In Conversation with God 7, 44.1
[ix] Rom. 3:23
[x] Rom. 9:11
[xi] The Catechism of the Council of Trent pg. 39
[xii] Nature and Grace 36:42
[xiii] Nisibene Hymns 27:8
[xiv] Orat. In Illud, Dominus pascit me, in Gallandi, Bibl. Patrum, II, 496 ante
[xv] Against Heresies 3:22:24
[xvi] Martin Luther's Sermon "On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God," 1527.
[xvii] Martin Luther's Little Prayer Book, 1522.
[xviii] Lk. 1:48
[xix] Lk. 1:38
[xx] Divine Intimacy pg. 27
[xxi] In Conversation with God 7, 53.2
[xxii] Divine Intimacy pg. 27