The Immaculate Conception is probably the most misunderstood teaching in the Church (up there with Papal Infallibility, which we will cover soon).
Why?
Because we are talking about Mary’s conception in Anne (father Joachim), not Jesus’ conception.
Because it is not stated explicitly in the bible. (Neither is the Trinity)
Let’s do our exegesis!
Here is the key reference in Luke 1: 26-38…
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The LORD is with you: blessed art thou among women."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace (favor) with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Essential points:
An Archangel comes to deliver a message; he is sent by God.
“Hail” is a regal greeting. An Archangel is giving Mary a regal greeting.
Mary is troubled by the greeting – why? Because she is lowly and has been addressed by an Angel with this title. Note that Gabriel did not use “Mary” in his address to her, just the title.
“Full of grace”: two points here:
Full of grace (Gabriel’s words), not partial grace. Full of grace is what we had before the Fall. We lost divine grace, which separated us from our relationship with God.
The original Greek employs a perfect participle when saying full of grace, which means it is something that Mary had all along. In other words, “full of grace” didn’t just happen as a result of Gabriel’s visit.
In some bibles, “favor” is used instead of grace. They mean the same. The favor of God is the grace of God. The Greek word used is “chari” and the Latin translation is “gratia,” meaning grace.
Church’s 2000 year old conclusion: 1) An Archangel from God hails Mary, not something humans ought dare to underestimate. 2) In Gabriel’s address he establishes for the world (via scripture) that Mary is, and has been, full of grace. This means Mary does not have the stain of original sin, which is the meaning of Immaculate Conception. 3) The Immaculate Conception is perfectly logical (credit goes to God) since if Jesus is to be born without sin then so should the womb that carries him. 4) The Church has held this belief since apostolic times. It was only 1500 years later that someone came up with the idea that Mary wasn’t what the Angel Gabriel said she was. Since the Catholic Church’s position is what has been taught for 2000 years, it is up to those who have more recently chosen to ignore Gabriel and discredit Jesus’ mother to make their case.
Also…
Mary is also considered the fulfillment of the Ark of the Covenant, foreshadowed by the first Ark of the Covenant that was made by Moses according to God’s instruction during their Exodus from Egypt, and taken into the Promised Land and placed in Solomon’s Temple. The Ark contained three things: 1) the Bread of the Presence (representing the manna from heaven that kept the Hebrews alive in the desert); 2) the staff of Aaron (representing the authority of God); and 3) the tablets from Mt. Sinai containing the Ten Commandments (the Word of God). With her pregnancy, Mary became the true Ark as she contained Jesus who was 1) the bread of eternal life, 2) the true authority of God, and 3) the actual Word of God.
Also…
Consider Genesis 3:13-15
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
Traditional Jewish interpretations saw the last verse (15) as Messianic prophecy. Christianity calls it the “Proevangelicum” – the first Gospel. The seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent is Jesus, and the woman is Mary.
Everyone knows about Paul's references to Jesus as the new Adam because Jesus came to correct/reverse the fallen steps of Adam: to obey and trust God, and to love and forgive others to the very end. When Mary says to Gabriel, “May it be done according to your (God’s) word,” she is already emulating Christ (who wasn’t born yet) when he later said: “Father.. not my will, but yours be done.”(Mark 14:36) It was Mary’s "yes" that replaces Eve’s no. Just as Eve’s decision led to Adam joining her for the Fall, Mary decision led to Jesus' reversal of the Fall. Logically (and poetically) speaking, this makes Mary the new Eve.
Btw, who else besides Mary and Jesus were ever born without sin? Answer: Adam and Eve, before the Fall. If God’s plan was to come here to reverse man’s Fall and start over, then it only makes sense that Mary and Jesus would also have no sin. To continue this theme of Jesus, baptism from Jesus forward does what? The exact same thing – it removes original sin.
Also…
Note that Eve is called "Woman" before the Fall. She only gets the name Eve after the Fall; it means "life" and she is called the mother of humanity. When else is "Woman" used? First, at the wedding of Cana at the start of Jesus ministry when he refers to Mary this way; and secondly on the cross speaking to John and Mary: "Woman, behold thy son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold thy mother." Jesus is not making reference to woman absent-mindedly. It is intentional. He is referring us to the new Eve.
Also…
As noted, we have Mary referenced in the 1st book of the bible (Genesis); and now also in the last book (Revelation) where Mary and the Serpent meet again:
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky (the fallen angels) and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations of with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. -- Revelation 12:1-5
Also…
Early quotes from the Fathers of both the Eastern and Western Church …
“Only you [Jesus] and your Mother are more beautiful than everything. For on you, O Lord, there is no mark; neither is there any stain in your mother.”
-- Ephrem the Syrian, Nisibene Hymns 27.8, 361 AD
“We must except (not accept) 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.”
-- Augustine, On Nature and Grace 42, 415 AD
Final note...
All Christians had been praying to Mary and the saints for their intercession since Apostolic times. It was only 1,500 years after Christ that some Christians (most Protestants) lost their affection and proper honor for Mary and the saints. The idea that Catholics worship Mary and the saints is nothing but a myth generated out of ignorance, arrogance, or hatred (hard to tell which). There's nothing anyone can do about it except educate them (if they will listen) and love them regardless. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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