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The Immaculate Conception [An excerpt from the Catholic Encyclopedia, Revised Edition, off the website: http.//newadvent.org/…] "The Blessed Virgin Mary . . ." The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body. ". . .in the first instance of her conception . . ." The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul. ". . .was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin. . ." The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining in her soul to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam -- from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death. ". . .by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.
THE DOCTRINE In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."
In some Marian apparitions, MARY refers to herself as “The Immaculate Conception” [e.g. at Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous (1858) and to Sr.Catherine Laboure in Paris (1830)].
The Bible does not ask us to pay Mary the adoration due to God alone; that would be idolatry. But the Bible does teach us: Honor thy mother, Mary, as Jesus did! We can also be assured that our Blessed Mother hears our prayers for she, as well as the other saints in heaven, is one of the "cloud of witnesses," who observe us (Heb. 12:1), and witnesses are those who can testify under oath in court as to what they have seen and heard. Therefore, we should frequently request our Blessed Mother to pray to God, to obtain his graces for us. Hail Mary, full of Grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Why MARY ? We have God, the Father – God the Son, Jesus Christ – and God, the Holy Spirit – so why acknowledge or petition Mary for her intercession? We adore the Blessed Trinity – not Mary – so why do Catholics honor her in special ways, and why have a devotion to her? It
is in the plan of God that we practice devotions to Our Lady, since She is
our strongest advocate before Him.
Mary is the perfectly
‘holy’ daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, and the spouse of the
Holy Spirit. She is the ‘second’ Eve, the perfect Eve, mother of all the
living – Gen. 3:20.
Jesus listened to His
mother and always honored her. They loved and cared for each other
throughout their entire life. And when Jesus died, he gave His Mother,
Mary, to us, as He gave her to His disciple, John, at the foot of the Cross
(Jn.19:27). Contact Information
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