The Immaculate Conception

In 1854, Pope Pius IX's solemn declaration, Ineffabilis Deus, clarified with finality the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin. In proclaiming the Immaculate Conception of Mary as a dogma of the Church, the pope expressed precisely and clearly that Mary was conceived free from the stain of original sin. This privilege of Mary derives from God's having chosen her as Mother of the Savior; thus she received the benefits of salvation in Christ from the very moment of her conception.

This great gift to Mary, an ordinary human being just like us, was fitting because she was destined to be Mother of God. The purity and holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model for all Christians. But not just a model, she is the also the hope for all Christians. She is the hope because through her we can have access to Christ in a otherwise inaccessible manner. Through her, by the "overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, we can become, like her, though divine grace, worthy dwelling places of her Son.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says of the Immaculate Conception of Mary:
490. To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role". The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

491. Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1844:
"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of
almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all
stain of original sin." (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854.)

492. The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son." 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."

493. The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia) and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature". By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.

The immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary has its origins in today's Gospel. The Archangel Gabriel said to Mary in greeting: Hail, Full of Grace. This name given to Mary- Full of Grace- is a title to her and shows us that God HImself calls her Full of Grace.

Full of Grace means all of the merits and graces gained by her Son, Jesus Christ as he died upon the cross- were given to Mary at the moment of her conception in the womb of Saint Anne. (you may want to say a few words about devotion to her.)

The Fullness of Grace given to Mary as a gift were never lost or diminished in her life- until she was Assumed into heaven. The grace of Christ was fully given to her throughout her life. Mediating on the mysteries of the Rosary helps us to see this.

For us, we must know because of the Blessed Virgin, there is available to us this same fullness of grace. We are sinners and are in great need of grace. Our Lady helps us obtain the grace we need to be faithful disciples of Christ.

We need help with our daily struggles and crosses. We too often try to limit our Lord in answering our prayers. Like the Virgin, we must follow the way of the cross. However, we tend to draw back and naturally are not wanting to do this. Life, however, takes over- the circumstances which we have no control over, cause us to suffer, to struggle and sometimes to loose hope. Todays feast should revive our hope, for there is unlimited grace in Christ.

But even more; God prepared a worthy dwelling place for his Son in the Immaculate Conception; God too, by grace and holiness, wants to prepare a worthy dwelling place in us for the Son in the Spirit. We for our part must, like the Virgin, give Him our yes, our fiat! This of course is not a one time thing; our fiat is given each time we choose right over wrong, truth over error; the Church’s teachings over the teachings of the world; virtue over sin; in other words; each time we choose God’s Holy will over our own selfish will; each time we for love of God put the needs of others before our own.

While this seems like an impossible task; what is impossible for men is possible for God through the intercession of the Virgin. If we turn to her in greater love and devotion, she will help us to draw closer to her Son, Jesus; through her powerful intercession, through her fiat her yes, the Holy Spirit will come and rebirth the Son of God in us through holiness. And then although not conceived Immaculate, we will live Immaculate and die Immaculate; in other words, we will be saints, one with God, God dwelling in us; God going out to the world, in us, through us, and with us.

Come Holy Spirit Come, Come by means of the powerful intercession of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy well-beloved spouse. (3x) amen. Immaculate Conception, Mediatrix of All Grace, Co-redemptrix, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee. Amen.