Rev. Fr.
Leonard Goffine's The Church's Year
THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY
On this day and the ensuing eight days, the Catholic
Church celebrates with special solemnity the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What
does the Catholic Church understand by the Immaculate
Conception?
By the Immaculate Conception she does not understand that
great grace by which Mary preserved herself pure from every, even
the least, actual sin; for, as concerns this, the Church has long
since declared that Mary never sinned: nor does she understand by it
her continual virginity, for it has been for a long time a doctrine
of faith that both before and after the birth of her divine Son Mary
remained a pure virgin; nor yet that she was sanctified before
birth; as were the Prophets Jeremias and John the
Baptist, who were both conceived in sin, but by a special grace
of God were released from it before their birth; neither does
she understand by it the conception of Christ from the Holy Ghost,
that is, that Mary unstained conceived the Son of God of the Holy
Ghost; and without the assistance of man, for this was
always the unalterable doctrine of the Church: she does understand
by it that exalted favor, that unshared privilege, by which the
Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first moments of her conception,
by a special grace and favor on the part of God in reference to the
merits of Jesus, our Saviour, was preserved from every stain of
original sin.
What has until now been held by the Church in regard
to this privilege?
The
Catholic Church has always been of the pious opinion that Mary, the
blessed Mother of the Redeemer, was conceived immaculate, that her
most pure soul had never from the first moment of her existence the
least shadow of sin. This doctrine was embraced by all the saints,
the most learned and most faithful children of the Church. We have
testimony of this, as far back as the times of the apostles, in a
document concerning the sufferings of St. Andrew, in which it is
said: "As the first man was created from the spotless earth, so was
it necessary that the perfect man (Christ Jesus) should be born of
an immaculate virgin." St. Justin, who died a martyr in the year 167
after Christ, compares the Blessed Virgin to Eve, before she sinned
and while she was still a virgin. St. Amphilochus says: "He who
created the first Eve free from shame, created the second without
spot or stain." Origen, one of the Fathers of the Church, writes
that she was neither surprised by the personated serpent, nor
infected by his poison, and calls her a pure and immaculate mother.
St. Ephrem calls her the undefiled, the strong, the inviolate, the
most chaste virgin, far removed from all spot and stain. The Abbot
St. Sabbas says of Mary: "On thee who never took part in any guile,
I place my hope. No one but thou, O Lady, is without fault, and
besides'thee no one is unsullied and spotless." St. Ambrose calls
Mary a virgin who by the grace of God remained always free from all
shadow of sin. St. Augustine says: "When there is mention made of
sin, the Virgin of whom on account of our Lord no question is to be
asked, must be excepted." St. Proclus says, "that the holy Mother of
God was made by the purest God free from all stain." St. Fulgentius
says: "The wife of the first man was led astray and her soul soiled
toy the malice of sin, but in the mother of the second (Christ) the
grace of God preserved the soul as well as the body inviolate." St.
Paschasius Radbertus testifies: "It is certain that Mary was free
from original sin;" and St. Peter Barman says: "The flesh of the
Virgin taken from Adam, would not submit to the stain of Adam," and
before him the pious Doctor Alcuin wrote of Mary: "Thou art
beautiful as the moon and free from all spot and every shadow of
changeableness!" And St. Ildephonsus says: "It is certain that Mary
was free from original sin." An immense number of saintly men and
theologians maintained the same. Many of them argued with the
greatest keenness and the most indefatigable zeal the part of the
Blessed Virgin; the teachers at the universities of Paris,
Salamanca, Coimbra, Naples, Cologne, Mayence, Ingolstadt, &c.,
made it their duty by vows to inculcate this great privilege of the
most favored Virgin, and to defend it by speech and by writings.
Celebrated orders of monks, especially the orders of St. Benedict,
St. Francis and St. Ignatius, made it their duty to advance this
pious faith of the Immaculate Conception among the people. A great
number of popes and bishops also honored the Immaculate Conception,
and forbade the contrary doctrine to be taught. Even kings, princes
and emperors counted it a great honor to pay homage to the
Immaculate Conception of the Queen of Heaven. Finally, the Catholic
Church gave definite expression to this universal belief, by
declaring in the Council of Trent, that in the resolutions relating
to original sin, the Virgin Mary was not included, and she confirmed
the festival of the Immaculate Conception, introduced in the tenth
century by St. Anselm, the worthy son of the great St. Benedict, and
since that time observed in all the Churches.
This veneration for the Immaculate Conception, this pious
view held by the whole Catholic Church was not yet a matter of
faith, that is, the Catholic Church had not yet laid down this great
privilege of the Mother of God as a dogma. We were not commanded to
believe it, although to preach or teach against it was forbidden.
But when, in the course of time, a large number of the faithful,
among whom were archbishops, bishops, whole religious orders, as
well as great monarchs, besought the pope as head of the Church to
pronounce concerning the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin, that is, to elevate the belief so widely spread throughout
the Catholic Church to a dogma, the pope could no longer hesitate to
raise his voice in regard to this most important
affair.
What did the supreme pastor of the Church, the pope,
then do in regard to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin?
Pope Pius IX. who, as he himself testified, had in many
ways experienced the assistance of the great Queen of Heaven, was
urged by his love and childlike veneration for the Blessed Mother of
our Lord, to set the last brilliant diamond in her crown of glory by
declaring the Immaculate Conception an article of faith. Not wishing
to be precipitate, he first addressed a circular to all the
primates, patriarchs, archbishops and bishops, of the whole Catholic
world, February 2, 1849, requesting them to send him reports of the
devotion of their clergy and the faithful concerning the Immaculate
Conception, and the extent of their desire in the matter, that the
case might be decided by the Apostolic See; at the same time he
urged them to pray with him that God would give him the necessary
enlightenment, and to call upon the clergy and the faithful for
their prayers. When this was done, five hundred bishops in different
parts of the world declared that they and their flocks firmly
believed that Mary, the most favored Virgin, was preserved from
every stain of original sin, and that they earnestly desired that
the pope might raise this pious opinion to a dogma of the Church.
Then the holy father, filled with delight, invited the bishops of
the different countries to Rome, to consult with him upon the
matter. About one hundred and fifty bishops, and a large number of
learned men and superiors of spiritual orders, met at Rome and the
whole subject was once more maturely examined; and at last, the 8th
of December, 1854, the day on which the Church celebrates the feast
of the Immaculate Conception, was appointed as the day on which the
pope, the supreme head of the Church, the mouth of the apostles,
should solemnly announce the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception.
On this day the holy father ascended the Apostolic Chair
in the splendid Church of St. Peter at Rome, and surrounded by the
assembled cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, the clergy and the
people he once more invoked the light of the Holy Ghost, and amid
the perfect silence which reigned in that immense church, the holy
father in a loud voice and with the most profound reverence and
emotion read the decree by which he solemnly pronounced and
established, that:
"It is an article of faith that the Blessed Virgin Mary
by a special grace and privilege of God, on account of the merits
of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, was from the first
instant of her conception protected and preserved from every stain
of original sin."
Thus has the head of Catholic Christianity drawn aside
the veil, which until then obscured the full glory of the Queen of
Heaven, which now shines in stainless loveliness radiant over the
whole world. The truth that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived
immaculate is no longer a pious opinion, but an article of faith
which every Catholic who wishes to remain a child of the Church,
must profess with heart and with lips.
But,
perhaps the decision of the pope concerning the Immaculate
Conception is a new doctrine?
By no means; it is an old
belief, established upon the holy Scriptures and laid down in the
bosom of the Church, but not solemnly pronounced and made public
previously. The pope cannot make a new article of faith, but he can
and must announce that, as a revealed truth, which is established by
the holy Scriptures and has been everywhere and at all times
believed as a revealed truth by all true Christians. But if
there is a truth founded on the holy Scriptures and tradition, of
which the pope, the representative of Christ on earth, speaks
officially, then every Catholic is bound to believe and openly to
acknowledge the same. As we have already seen, the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception has been believed since the time of the
apostles, and it is also established by the Scriptures. In the
oldest of the sacred Books, in the Book of Genesis, (iii. 15.) is
one of the most weighty passages on this subject which reads: I will
put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed;
she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
After the fall of the first man, God spoke to the serpent, Satan,
announcing that a woman would come and crush his head, that is,
destroy his power; and all Catholic interpreters and holy Fathers
agree that this woman is the Blessed Virgin. Mary is, therefore,
placed by God Himself as Satan's enemy, and must have been free from
original sin from the first moment of her conception, otherwise she
would have been, as St. Paul, the Apostle, says, a child of God's
wrath and under the power of Satan. In the gospel of St. Luke, (i.
28.) it is further said: And the Angel being come in, said unto her:
Hail full of grace: the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst
women. The angel, by the direction of God, called Mary full of
grace, that is, more than any of the just endowed with God's
sanctifying grace, as the holy Fathers agree. But would Mary be full
of sanctifying and all other graces, had she for one moment of her
life been without grace and burdened with sin? Would God have
permitted the Blessed Mother of His only begotten Son, from whom He
received flesh, to be touched by sin, even though for an instant,
and be in the power of Satan? No; God's hand preserved her; by His
grace and by the infinite merits of her divine Son she remained free
from every stain of sin, and the Church most justly applies to her the words of holy
Scripture: Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in
thee. (Cant. iv. 7.)
What instructive meaning has the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin for every
Catholic?
The Immaculate Conception
teaches Catholics to know in some measure the infinite sanctity of
the holy Trinity which makes sin so hateful and detestable to Him.
The Heavenly Father could not see His beloved daughter for one
moment stained by sin. The Divine Son could not ' wish to
choose for His mother a virgin upon whose soul there was a vestige
of sin. The Holy Ghost whose most pure bride Mary is, was not
willing that her heart, His dwelling-place, should ever be for one
instant soiled by sin. Behold how God detests sin! The Immaculate
Conception also teaches us the inestimable treasure of sanctifying
grace. Mary received this priceless treasure from God even in the
first moment of her conception, without it she would never have
become the Mother of the Saviour. Thou, my Christian, hadst not this
treasure at thy conception, it is true, but thou didst receive it in
holy baptism; there God's hand arrayed thee in the white garment of
innocence; there He sanctified thy soul, and the Holy Ghost selected
it for His dwelling-place. Mary preserved this inestimable treasure
until death, she was always blooming as a pure lily, the breath of
sin never soiled her loveliness. Ask thyself: Do I still possess
this treasure, which was given to me in holy baptism; have I
preserved my soul's beauty from the poison of sin, have I soiled it,
destroyed it, lost it? Oh, if thou hast lost this precious gift, how
unhappy art thou! if thou hast had this great misfortune to have
stained thy garment of baptismal innocence by sin, Mary, the
peerless virgin, has borne for thee the Saviour whose precious blood
cleanses from every sin, whose infinite merits will restore to thee
sanctifying grace, if thou art contrite and dost confess thy sin.
But for the Saviour this treasure would be forever lost to thee, and
thy soul forever forfeited. But for this Saviour Mary would not have
been preserved from original sin, would not have received
sanctifying grace at her conception. We can here learn the necessity
cf salvation through Christ, gratefully thank God who has given it
to us, and praise Mary who had the grace to conceive and give birth
to Him. In the Immaculate Conception, O Christian, thou canst learn
to know something of the priceless value of virginity. Jesus chose a
pure and immaculate virgin for His mother, who should be the mirror
of all virginal souls, her most pure and immaculate image should be
continually presented to the corrupted world to show how virginity
is esteemed in the eyes of our Lord.
INTROIT I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for He hath clothed me
with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice He hath
covered me, as a bride adorned with her jewels. (Isai. Ixi.
10.) I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and hast
not made my Enemies to rejoice over me. f/fr.xxix.) Glory ect.
COLLECT O God, who by the Immaculate
Conception of the Virgin, didst prepare a worthy habitation for Thy
Son: we beseech Thee, that as Thou didst through the foreseen death
of Thy same Son, preserve her from all stain, so Thou wilt also
grant that we may reach Thee cleansed through her intercession.
Through the same Jesus etc.
LESSON (Prov. viii. 22—35.)
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made
any thing, from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of
old, before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I
was already conceived: neither had the fountains of waters as yet
sprung out: the mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been
established: before the hills I was brought forth: he had not yet
made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When he
prepared the heavens, I was present; when, with a certain law and
compass, he enclosed the depths; when he established the sky above,
and poised the fountains of waters; when he compassed the sea with
its bounds, and set a law to the waters, that they should not pass
their limits; when he balanced the foundations of the earth. I was
with him, forming all things, and was delighted every day, playing
before him at all times, playing in the world; and my delights were
to be with the children of men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear
me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be
wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me,
and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my
door. He that shall find me shall find life, and shall have
salvation from the Lord.
EXPLANATION AND APPLICATION This
lesson is first a panegyric on the divine, uncreated Wisdom, the
eternal Son of God, who at all times and before all things was with
God and in God, by whom was made everything that was made, ordered
and preserved; who rejoices in His works, loves them, and who
admonishes man to love and imitate Him, and promises him eternal and
temporal happiness. The Church causes this lesson to be read on this
day, because the greater part of it can be applied to Mary; for it
can truly be said of her, that she, as the most holy and excellent
of all creatures, possessed the first place in the heart of God. For
this reason the Church applies to her the words of the wise man: I
came out of the mouth of the most High, the first-born before all
creatures. (Ecclus. xxiv. 5.) For, as St. Richard says, she
is the most worthy of all; no one has received so full a measure of
purity, and of all supernatural gifts; in no creature are the
marvels of divine goodness so visible as in her. Admire, devout
soul, this master-piece of Almighty God, and make frequent use of
the words of St. Chrysostom:
"Hail Mother of God and our Mother! Hail O Heaven in
which God Himself dwells! O Throne of grace from which the Lord
distributes His graces! Pray always to Jesus for us, that on the Day
of Judgment we may receive forgiveness and eternal salvation."
GOSPEL. (Luke i. 26—28.) at that time, The angel Gabriel was
sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and
the virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel being come in, said unto
her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou
amongst women.
Why is this gospel read
today?
Because it has a significant relation to the Immaculate
Conception, and proclaims the great honor shown to the Blessed
Virgin by these words: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
blessed art thou amongst women.
Why did the angel call Mary full of grace?
Because Mary was filled with grace, even before she came
into this world; because she always increased in grace; because she
was to bear the Author of all grace; that we may consider how Mary
obtains for us the treasures of divine grace.
Mary was filled with grace even before her birth. As we
are all conceived in sin, being children of a sinful ancestor, we
are, therefore, burdened by sin before our birth. Mary was free by
the privilege of the Immaculate Conception from all sin; her soul,
pure and adorned with sanctifying grace, came forth from the hands
of the Creator, and without the least prejudice to its purity and
sanctity was united to her most pure body, from which the Saviour
was to take His humanity. She could not from the first instant of
her existence be wanting in that original sanctity and justice,
which were the most beautiful adornments of our natural ancestress,
Eve.
But Mary from the first
moment of her conception was not only in grace but full of grace,
because God appointed her for the highest dignity, of being the
Mother of His only-begotten Son, and had consequently endowed her
with the full measure of corresponding plenitude of graces and gifts
of the Holy Ghost; according to the opinion of many learned men, the
measure of grace which the Blessed Virgin received at her Immaculate
Conception, was greater than that which all the angels and blessed
possess now in glory. Mary ever increased in grace: But the path of
the just, as a shining light, goeth forward and increaseth even to
perfect day. (Prov. iv. 18.) These words of the Holy Ghost
are verified especially in the life of the Blessed Virgin. What
abundance of grace did she not receive, when the Holy Ghost
overshadowed her, and the divine Son, who is Himself the infinite
plenitude of grace, was conceived in her most pure body! Above all
this, there yet came that rich supply of grace by which her zealous,
constant, perfect and faithful cooperation made Mary increase every
moment in grace. Thus St. Bonaventure says: "As all the waters meet
in the sea, so all the graces were united in Mary."
Why did the angel say to Mary: The Lord is with thee?
Because God is with the Blessed Virgin in an
extraordinary manner. It is well to notice particularly, that the
archangel Gabriel did not say to Mary as the angel did to Gideon:
The Lord be with thee, (Judges vi. 12.) but: The Lord is
with thee. These words are not, therefore,
the wish that the favor, the blessing, the
protection of God may be with Mary, but the positive declaration
that the Lord really is with her, not simply because of His
omnipotence and omnipresence by which He is with all His creatures,
nor merely because of His goodness, love and intimacy by which He is
with all the just. He is with her in a peculiar manner, since she by
her dignity of being the Mother of God came into such close
relationship with the Triune God that our intellect can conceive
nothing nearer. She became the chosen Mother of the Son of God, the
dearest, the most favored daughter of the Heavenly Father, and the
pure, beloved bride of the Holy Ghost. "God the Father was with
her," says St. Bonaventure, "as with His most noble Daughter; God
the Son was with her as with His most worthy Mother; God the Holy
Ghost was with her as with His most pure Bride."
Why did the angel say to Mary: Blessed art thou
amongst women?
Because he desired to honor her as the most blessed of
her sex, since she alone was chosen of all the others to be the
Mother of God; because the first woman brought the curse, but Mary,
the salvation of the world.
Mary, Mother of God! An honor, indeed, which in its
exaltation is second only to divinity. Mary, the Virgin Mother of
God! Mother and Virgin at the same time, what a wonderful
prerogative! Though the greatest and most glorious of all mothers,
she is the purest and most spotless of virgins, the queen of
virgins.
But not only on account of her double glory as Mother of
God and as a Virgin, Mary is the most blessed of her sex, but
because it was given to her to mediate for us and for the whole
world. She is that woman, promised to our first and sinful parents
in Paradise, who would crush the serpent's head; she gave to her Son
the body with which He, by His death on the cross, accomplished the
great work of salvation.
ACT OF PRAISE
"Praised and blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary!"
(Pope Pius VI. granted an indulgence of one hundred days
to those who, with contrition and devotion repeat the above act of
praise.) |